The queue of generation and storage projects waiting to connect to Australia's National Electricity Market (NEM) has reached 80.9 GW, overtaking the 77 GW of capacity currently installed on the grid for the first time. The figure comes from the Australian Energy Market Operator's (AEMO) Connections Scorecard for the September 2026 quarter, reported by RenewEconomy and ESD News on 22 October. According to ESD News, the pipeline has grown by 43% in a year.
Batteries dominate the queue
Grid-scale batteries account for 55% of the capacity in the connection process, and hybrid solar-and-battery projects another 19%. Wind makes up 15%, standalone solar 5%, hydro 5% and gas 1%. Nearly 40% of the proposed battery projects offer between three and ten hours of storage. "Not only are we seeing more battery projects, but also increasing amounts of longer-duration storage," said James Lindley, AEMO's group manager of onboarding and connections.
The trend continued in the quarter itself. Of the 25 new connection applications lodged, totalling 7.5 GW, 19 were battery projects with a combined 5.8 GW.
A long road from queue to grid
Most of the pipeline is still at an early stage. Some 88% of queued capacity sits at the application or proponent implementation stage. ESD News reports that application-stage capacity more than doubled, up 101% to 38.5 GW, while capacity at the proponent implementation stage grew 42% to 32.3 GW.
In the quarter, 23 projects totalling 4.5 GW received connection approval, four projects totalling 1 GW were registered and connected, and seven projects totalling 1.3 GW reached full output. The 240 MW / 480 MWh Mornington battery in Victoria reached full nameplate capacity in late September, and AEMO approved the 200 MW, 1,600 MWh Silver City compressed-air storage project in Broken Hill, New South Wales.
"The size of the pipeline is encouraging, but not every project will progress at the same pace or ultimately reach commissioning," Lindley said. AEMO points to delays, changes in ownership or design and slow commercial negotiations as typical hurdles, and says it is working with industry on the second phase of its Connections Reform Initiative.
Why speed matters
The pressure on the system is real. Around 15 GW of generation is due to retire over the next decade, while electricity consumption is forecast to rise by more than 40%. Lindley said it is "critical for electricity reliability that projects continue to advance to commissioning".
What it means
For solar developers, the Australian numbers send a clear message: standalone solar farms are becoming a small part of new grid supply, while solar paired with batteries, and batteries that absorb surplus midday solar, make up most of the pipeline. Hybrid design, storage duration and connection readiness now count as much as module cost. For investors, the gap between an 80.9 GW queue and the projects that actually reach full output each quarter is a reminder to price connection risk carefully.
Sources: RenewEconomy, ESD News.
