South West Renewable Energy Zone powers up

Four wind, solar and battery projects have been granted the right to connect to new power lines in the South West Renewable Energy Zone (REZ).

The projects are Origin Energy’s Yanco Delta wind farm, Spark Renewables Dinawan Energy Hub, Someva’s Pottinger Energy Park and BayWA’s Bullawah Wind Farm:

The developments will be located near Hay, Darlington Point and Jerilderie.

EnergyCo has granted access rights to wind, solar and large-scale battery projects with a combined generation capacity of 3.56 gigawatts. The NSW Government said that’s enough to power more than 1.6 million homes a year.

This follows a competitive access rights tender process by AEMO Services Limited. The strong level of interest and competition between developers is a testament to the high quality of the renewable energy resources in the South West REZ.

The grant of access rights provides more certainty to communities in the south west of NSW about the renewable energy projects that will be developed in the region over coming years.

The access fees paid by these projects will fund community benefits programs that will deliver legacy benefits informed by community priorities.

“The South West Renewable Energy Zone is expected to drive more than $17 billion in private investment in solar, wind and energy storage projects, and this landmark tender shows the high interest in investing in NSW," Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Penny Sharpesaid.

“These projects will help ensure NSW has enough renewable energy generation and storage when coal-fired power stations retire. They also give certainty to host-communities, who will directly benefit from the fees paid by these companies to connect to the REZ.”

“We had strong interest from industry in the South West Renewable Energy Zone access rights tender," EnergyCo chief executive, Hannah McCaughey said.

"The access scheme will also ensure we make the best use of new power lines, to put downward pressure on energy bills for everyone in NSW.

“The first projects are expected to come online from 2027 to 2030, which will help keep the lights on and secure our energy future.”

What is a Renewable Energy Zone?

REZs will group new wind and solar power generation and batteries into locations where it can be efficiently stored and transmitted across NSW.

Five zones have been identified and will keep NSW electricity reliable as coal-fired power stations retire, delivering large amounts of new energy to power our regions and cities.

REZs will help deliver lower wholesale electricity costs and place downward pressure on customer bills through increased competition and efficient use of the network, while supporting local jobs and business opportunities during construction and operation.

Where is the South West Renewable Energy Zone?

The South West REZ is centred around Hay and takes in towns including Balranald and Buronga.

The location was chosen due to an abundance of high-quality wind and solar resources, proximity to existing and planned high voltage transmission including Project EnergyConnect, relative land-use compatibility and a strong pipeline of proposed projects.

At its peak, this REZ is expected to support over 2,000 construction jobs in the region.