New South Wales opens call for 8GW renewable energy zone

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
A 53MW solar plant from utility AGL in New South Wales. Image: AGL Energy.

The New South Wales government has launched a registration of interest process for Australia’s largest renewable energy zone (REZ), which is expected to deliver as much as 8GW of capacity.

Generation, storage and network developers with proposed or operational assets in the state’s New England area have been asked to submit responses, with information from the process to be used to inform the best timing, design and exact location of the zone.

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

According to the NSW government, which has committed AU$78.9 million (US$60.9 million) to support the development of the REZ, the location selected for the zone benefits from exceptional natural solar and wind resources and is relatively close to existing grid infrastructure.

NSW’s energy and environment minister, Matt Kean, said the New England REZ will deliver AU$10.7 billion in private investment and will be a key part of the state’s Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap, which will see it create five renewable energy zones to replace existing power stations as they retire. With a combined capacity of 12GW, the zones will be in the regions of Central West and Orana, Illawarra, New England, South West and Hunter-Central Coast.

Announced in November, the roadmap is expected to attract up to AU$32 billion of private sector investment in electricity infrastructure and create more than 9,000 jobs by 2030, while helping the state reach its goal of becoming net zero by 2050.

The latest ROI process comes after the state saw a nine-fold oversubscription in interest for its first renewable energy zone last year. The government received 113 registrations of interest, totalling 27GW of capacity, looking to connect to the 3GW zone in the Central West and Orana regions.

Recent developments in New South Wales’s solar sector have seen construction start on the first stage of a 720MW hybrid solar and battery project in the New England region, while French independent power producer Neoen was given the go-ahead in March to develop a 350MW PV plant alongside a 100MW / 200MWh battery energy storage system.

The call for registrations of interest in the New England REZ will close on 16 July 2021.

Read Next

June 30, 2025
Voting on the US tax reconciliation bill is expected to begin in the Senate today, following a draft published on Friday that hit clean energy tax credits hard.
June 30, 2025
The Spanish government has launched a €100 million (US$117 million) aid programme to help promote the recycling and reuse of materials from renewable energy projects.
June 30, 2025
Australian module manufacturer Tindo Solar has secured a 30MW solar module supply agreement to power Australia's first "net zero pipeline”.
June 27, 2025
The UK government has decided it will not sign a Contract for Difference (CfD) with Xlinks for the 11.5GW Morroco-UK interconnector project.
June 26, 2025
PV solar cell manufacturer Halocell Energy has launched its first perovskite-based product called the Halocell Ambient Modules.
June 25, 2025
JinkoSolar has submitted a 133.76MWc solar-plus-storage project in New South Wales to the federal government under the EPBC Act.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Webinars
June 30, 2025
10am PST / 6pm BST
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
July 1, 2025
London, UK
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
July 2, 2025
Bangkok, Thailand
Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico