New South Wales Pilot REZ Gets Proposals Worth 27 GW

The government of New South Wales has received proposals for 27 GW of wind, solar and battery storage projects for its pilot 3 GW REZ in the state.

The government of New South Wales has revealed that the plan to create a 3-GW renewable energy zone (REZ) in the state has been met with phenomenal interest after the government received proposals for 27 GW of projects consisting of wind, solar and battery storage projects.

A total of 113 registrations of interest for projects with a combined value of AUD 38 billion (USD 26.3 billion) have been filed in response to the Registration of Interest (ROI) call for wind, solar and battery storage projects.

The design, development and construction of the zone will take several years, with the construction of the pilot hub expected to begin in 2022. The New South Wales government has committed to providing a total of AUD 40 million in funding for the initiative.

“With our local communities doing it tough from drought and now the COVID-19 pandemic, this phenomenal response shows the massive opportunity REZs can create with jobs, investment and new revenue streams for regional NSW,” Deputy Premier John Barilaro said.

Great to join @DugaldSaunders and @Matt_KeanMP in Dubbo to announce the Central West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ).

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The NSW Government is today committing a further $31.6 million in funding, taking the total investment to $40 million. #nswpol

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— John Barilaro MP (@JohnBarilaroMP) June 23, 2020

The Central-West Orana REZ will be capable of supplying electricity for around 1.3 million homes, once completed. Its development, to be overseen by the Energy Corporation of NSW, is seen to bring AUD 4.4 billion in private sector investments to the state.

In May, the state government had issued the expression of interest with the aim to unlock a huge pipeline of large-scale renewable energy and storage projects in the run-up to the planned retirement of its aging thermal-generation fleet. 

The NSW government has a long-term plan to deliver three REZs in the state’s Central-West, New England and South-West regions, which builds on the NSW Transmission Infrastructure Strategy and supports the implementation of the Australian Energy Market Operator’s Integrated System Plan.

As of October 2019, NSW had more than 100 private sector proposals to build large renewable generators with a cumulative capacity of 17,700 MW of generation capacity, worth an estimated USD 24 billion of investment into regional NSW. The government’s Net Zero Plan released in March outlines the ambition to deploy all of the aforementioned capacity across the three renewable energy zones.