The State Government of New South Wales (NSW) in Australia is moving ahead on its Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) program with the issuance of registration of interest (ROI) for the Central-West Renewable Energy Zone pilot. This is the first out of 3 such REZs that the state has planned; with the other 2 zones to come up in New England and South-West regions.
For the ROI, the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) has invited renewable energy, energy storage and emerging energy project proponents to register their interest in Central-West REZ. Through this ROI, the state government wants to understand the scale, location and types of projects that wish to join the first REZ of NSW.
The Central-West REZ is being planned as a pilot project to unlock up to 3 GW of new generation capacity by mid-2020s worth around AUD 4.4 billion ($3 billion) in private sector investment. This particular zone has been selected to start with because some 4.5 GW of projects are either approved or in the planning system in Central-West NSW.
Construction on the first REZ is to begin in 2022 following extensive consultation with local communities. Details of the Central-West REZ are available on the state government website.
Last date to submit ROIs is June 5, 2020.
NSW hopes to benefit from a significant pipeline of large-scale renewable energy and storage projects through the 3 REZs which would support private sector investment worth up to AUD 23 billion ($15 billion). Under its Net Zero emissions objective to be achieved by 2050, NSW has committed to grid connect up to 17.7 GW of cheaper renewable energy mainly comprising wind and solar farms. The REZ's are considered critical to achieving this goal (see New South Wales Targets 17.7 GW Grid Connected RE).