New South Wales receives 40GW of applications for new renewable energy zone, representing a US$72bn investment

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
There has been staggering interest in REZs in Australia, and NSW in particular, with most of them several times oversubscribed. Image Nextracker.

The Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) has received applications for nearly 40GW of renewable generation and storage projects for its planned Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) amid huge interest in clean energy resources in the state.

Commercial interest equating to AU$100 billion (US$71.7 billion) has been registered in 24 solar energy projects, 35 large-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS), eight pumped hydro projects and 20 wind farms, according to a statement by the NSW government.

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

“Together, these projects have the potential to deliver more than 100,000GWh of renewable energy a year – equivalent to the annual output of up to 10 coal-fired power stations,” the NSW government said.

This latest announcement comes hot on the heels of a tender for NSW’s South-West REZ, which received proposals for more than 34GW of solar, wind and energy storage – more than 10 times the expected capacity of the site.

REZs in Australia, and in particular in NSW, have proven phenomenally popular with solar developers looking to take advantage of the streamlined grid connection process and other purported benefits.

A different NSW tender in August 2021 also attracted 34GW of proposals, being more than four times oversubscribed, and tenders across the Central West Orana, New England and Southwest regions have attracted a combined 95GW of interest.   

“Renewable Energy Zones are vital to ensuring the future reliability and affordability of electricity in NSW as traditional coal-fired power stations close down over the coming decades,” said Australian Treasurer and Energy Minister Matt Kean.

“The REZ will not only attract investment in clean energy, it will also underpin the growth of new low carbon industries such as green hydrogen, ammonia and metals production which the world is going to need as it decarbonises,” said parliamentary secretary for the Central Coast, Adam Crouch.

Member for Upper Hunter, Dave Layzell, said the Hunter-Central Coast region was the “perfect location” for a REZ given its “good renewable energy resources, access to transmission, transport and port infrastructure […] and highly skilled workforce.”

The Energy Corporation of NSW (EnergyCo), a statutory authority controlled by the state government, is in the early stages of planning the Hunter-Central Coast REZ and will be using the information from this tender to inform the timing, capacity and boundaries of the Hunter-Central Coast REZ.

It is expected that the Hunter-Central Coast REZ will be formally declared under the NSW Government’s Electricity Roadmap legislation by mid-2022.

A feature article exploring REZs in Australia and their use in attracting solar investment into the country was included within volume 28 of PV Tech Power and can be read in full here.

Read Next

June 10, 2025
Australia’s Queensland government has confirmed an AU$2.4 billion investment in the CopperString transmission project, aiming to extend the National Electricity Market (NEM) to the North West Minerals Province.
June 6, 2025
Australia’s Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has called on Australia’s climate change and energy minister, Chris Bowen, to “urgently intervene” on a rule change that could threaten to derail the uptake of rooftop solar PV.
June 6, 2025
ElectraNet has revealed that renewables supplied 100% of South Australia's electricity demand for 27% of 2024, roughly 99 days.
Premium
June 3, 2025
In May 2025, utility-scale and rooftop solar PV dipped by 579GWh month-on-month in Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM) to 2,861GWh.
June 2, 2025
Government-owned electricity retailer Jacana Energy has contracted 45MW of solar PV from utility-scale projects in the Northern Territory, Australia.
May 30, 2025
Tasmania’s George Town council approved plans for a 288MW solar PV power plant this week, which is being pursued in Australia by German renewable energy developer ib vogt.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
June 17, 2025
Napa, USA
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
Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece