The three-year wait
Grid connection timelines threaten Australia’s renewable energy targets
In the News - April 2026
Current grid connection delays pose significant risk to Australia’s 2050 net zero goal progress, according to research commissioned by Intium.
The research highlights concerns identified by surveyed Australian business leaders involved in energy projects and reinforces Intium's view that grid connection delays is a nationally important issue that deserves greater attention and public discussion.
In a survey of 36 Australian business leaders involved in renewable energy projects, 75% said their renewables projects did not achieve grid connection on time. One in five (20%) business leaders surveyed who reached the commission stage and beyond, said it took over 18 months longer than anticipated to achieve successful grid connection. In addition, 70% said that the grid connection approval process could take anywhere from 13 months or more, with one-in-five (20%) saying their projects took between two and three years.
Nathan Rhodes, Executive General Manager at Intium says:
"This data supports what many developers know: not getting the grid connection process right is one of the most significant risks to Australia's renewable energy goals. The need to solve this challenge spans all asset classes central to the energy transition, whether it be utility-scale solar, wind farms, Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), or microgrids, which must efficiently connect to the grid to deliver energy at scale. If we don’t address these current grid connection delays, they could pose significant risk towards Australia’s 2050 net zero goal progress. This is a nationally important issue that, in Intium’s view, deserves greater attention and public discussion."
The alarming reality of uncontrolled technical risk
While grid connection typically represents a smaller part of upfront capital expenditure (approximately 10-20%), anecdotal evidence suggests that it can account for a significant portion of a project's risk profile, in some cases up to 50%.
Business leaders surveyed noted that grid connection delays can disrupt commercial operations and erode investor confidence — adding further pressure to future projects and the energy transition more generally.
In the survey, 44% of business leaders identified "change in technical requirements" as a key risk to grid connection delays, suggesting that unclear and evolving technical standards are a major challenge for developers. This uncertainty creates a "domino effect", with 69% of respondents indicating that their projects missed financial close, often resulting in substantial cost overruns compared to initial forecasts. 78% of business leaders surveyed said that their network connection costs exceeded their initial financial modelling.
The urgency to streamline approvals
Australia’s 2030 and 2050 renewable energy goals will require connection delivery partners to provide greater certainty on timelines and technical assurances upfront. Business leaders surveyed also noted that developers will need to ensure that their modelling and engineering outputs meet the quality required to address the network’s demanding technical specifications.
The research suggests that streamlining complex processes and engaging expertise early is a key solution to reduce risk in renewable energy project delivery in the National Electricity Market (NEM).
Approaches suggested to de-risk renewable energy projects:
Delivering certainty
Following Intium’s conversations with energy developers, it’s clear that many are exploring alternative approaches to grid connection delivery beyond those offered by incumbent providers. In addition, there is also frustration with aspects of the current grid connection framework in contestable markets, including perceived rigidity in commercial structures and a lack of pricing transparency
Nathan Rhodes, Executive General Manager at Intium, concludes:
"There is strong demand for partners who can provide greater certainty on timelines and technical assurances upfront. Developers have told us that grid connection delays can derail commercial operations and impact investor confidence. In our view, the risk of not getting it right is hugely significant and must not be underestimated. By engaging specialist expertise from the feasibility stage through to connection, companies may be able to reduce regulatory friction and gain greater clarity and speed, helping address what many investors and developers in the industry see as one of Australia's most significant energy bottlenecks."
This research was commissioned by Intium and conducted by Lonergan Research in accordance with the ISO 20252 standard. Lonergan Research surveyed 36 Australian business leaders involved with renewable energy projects. Surveys were distributed throughout Australia, including both capital city and non-capital city areas. The survey was conducted online amongst members of a permission-based panel between 4 August 2025 and 2 September 2025.
In addition, Intium engaged Rennie Advisory to undertake qualitative research into the needs of potential generation connection clients. Interviews were conducted with 8 developers with projects in the NEM to surface qualitative insights.
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