Green lights given to two Australian PV projects in NSW and Tasmania

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
A large-scale solar PV plant in New South Wales, Australia. Image: RWE.

State governments in New South Wales and Tasmania have granted approvals to two large-scale solar PV projects this week.

Conditional approvals for NSW solar-plus-storage

The New South Wales Independent Planning Commission has granted conditional approvals to a 215MW/50MWh solar-plus-storage project in the New England Renewable Energy Zone (REZ).

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

Oxley solar – the project in question – will be subject to “strict” conditions including an updated and detailed landscape plan with on-site vegetation, appropriately integrating into the surrounding landscape and establishing a range of soil and water management measures. This follows objections from at least 50 people submitted to the Commission.

The AU$370 million (US$242 million) project was found, after an assessment by the Department of Planning and Environment, to be “in the public interest…a suitable site for renewable energy development, given its location within a [renewable energy zone], solar resources, existing land capability class, topography, avoidance of major environmental constraints, and good access to both the regional road network and the existing electrical transmission network.”

New South Wales currently has five confirmed REZs, which designate areas for a high penetration of renewable energies and storage to act as a sort of ‘power station’. In February, the NSW government officially launched the Illawarra REZ, which received 17GW of applications in its initial registration of interest.

Last month, the Australian government unveiled its new Contracts-for-Difference (CfD) scheme which will see it underwrite investments into 32GW of new renewable energy generation and storage capacity. Experts have called the scheme the ‘biggest news in Australian electricity policy’.

Tasmania’s biggest solar plant

In other news this week (12th December) the North Midlands Council, a Tasmanian local government, has approved the development application for a 288MW solar PV project.

The project will be the ‘biggest’ solar development in the state, according to a statement from the Tasmanian Premier’s office, with construction expected to begin in mid-2024 and operations forecast for 2026.

The site will deploy 670,000 solar modules over an area of 600 hectares. Supplier deals or technologies are yet to be disclosed.

Tasmania is seeking to double its renewable energy generation capacity by 2040. Minister for energy and renewables, Nick Duigan, said: “Increasing our renewable energy generation will help ensure Tasmania continues to have the lowest power prices in the nation.”

Indeed, a July report from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) found that Tasmania had the lowest quarterly average electricity prices in the country in Q2, down as low as AU$64/MWh (US$42/MWh). The reason for lowered prices across Australia was a rise in renewable energy generation as a portion of total grid capacity.

There will be a feature-length piece on the recent landscape of Australian renewables investments in the upcoming December edition of our downstream journal, PV Tech Power.

Read Next

August 8, 2025
This week several solar developers have raised funds for projects around the world, including BRUC in Europe, Greenalia in the US, Qair in Mauritius and CREC in Philippines.
August 8, 2025
German renewable energy developer ib vogt has officially broken ground on a 99MWp solar PV power plant in South Cotabato, the Philippines.
August 7, 2025
US-based floating solar (FPV) developer D3Energy is constructing a 6MW floating solar system in Monroeville – a village in Huron County, Ohio. 
August 7, 2025
Independent power producer Arevon Energy has powered the second phase of the Eland solar-plus-storage Center in Los Angeles, California.
August 7, 2025
Infinity Power has signed two concession agreements with the Government of Côte d'Ivoire for PV projects with a total capacity of 80MWac.
Premium
August 7, 2025
July 2025, the peak of the Australian winter season, saw generation from utility-scale and rooftop solar increase by 12.78% year-on-year in the National Electricity Market (NEM).

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
October 2, 2025
London,UK
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines