AEMO Services says the access rights tender for South West REZ resulted in offers coming in for 4x the indicative capacity
It has received interest for 15 GW of generation and storage projects as against the 3.98 GW offered
Hybrid power projects that pair wind and solar with storage infrastructure make up a significant volume
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO Services) has received bids 4x the indicative tender target of 3.98 GW with applications coming in for more than 15 GW of generation and storage infrastructure to secure access rights to the South West Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) in New South Wales (NSW).
Access rights, secured competitively, enable generation and storage projects to connect to a REZ. These rights are developed by EnergyCo as the infrastructure planner of the 1st 5 REZs planned by NSW.
For the South West REZ access rights tender, hybrid projects with wind and solar combined with storage systems form a significant volume of facilities proposed. Among bids received are more than twice the 1 GW capacity sought for long-duration storage infrastructure.
“From our conversations with investors and proponents, we could see that South West REZ would attract a lot of attention and it’s encouraging that this enthusiasm has been reflected in the slate of proponents who have come forward with bids,” said AEMO Services Executive General Manager Nevenka Codevelle.
The South West REZ is planned to cover the area around Hay on the lands of the Wiradjuri, Yorta Yorta, Baraba Baraba, Wemba Wemba, Wadi Wadi, Madi Madi, Nari Nari, Dadi Dadi, Kureinji and Yitha Yitha people. These locations are close to the existing electricity network and have strong renewable energy resource potential, according to the state government.
In 2022, the South West REZ attracted over 34 GW renewable energy capacity, 13 times the intended capacity of 2.5 GW in response to the state’s registration of interest call (see Over 34 GW For NSW’s South West REZ).
The tender was conducted as part of the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap announced in 2020 which aims to replace the state’s coal-fired power plants with renewable, affordable and reliable energy. It envisages the development of 5 REZs. Apart from South West REZ, the others are Central-West Orana, New England, Hunter-Central Coast, and Illawarra REZs.
In a recent report, the Australian climate change communications non-profit organization Climate Council pointed out that the rollout of renewable energy projects and firming infrastructure in NSW remains much too slow thanks to lengthy, slow, and expensive approval processes. These led to the state government extending the life of the polluting Eraring Coal-Fired Power Station by 2 years.