The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO Services) has selected a combined 312 MW of wind, solar and storage capacity under the 4th tender conducted for the New South Wales (NSW) Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap.
The winning projects are 172 MW/372 MWh Meryvale Solar and Energy Storage Project of Gentari Renewables Australia, and 140 MW Flyers Creek Wind Farm of Iberdrola.
A hybrid solar and energy storage project, the Maryvale facility will generate renewable energy during the day from the sun, and supply essential power to the grid during peak demand. Both are located in the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), the 1st out of 5 REZs in the state of NSW.
AEMO has awarded new Long-Term Energy Service Agreements (LTESA) to the 2 winners for the auction process launched in November 2023 (see NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap's 4th Tender Round).
This capacity is much less than 3,000 GWh/year the agency had been hoping to procure which would have translated into more than 1 GW installed capacity.
"These two projects are worthy additions to a healthy pipeline of projects already supported across NSW, but it is clear that we'll need to secure further investment at or near record levels to 2030 and beyond if we are to meet our targets and deliver a reliable supply of cleaner, more affordable electricity for NSW consumers," said AEMO Services' Executive General Manager Nevenka Codevelle.
All combined, AEMO says it has awarded 2.452 GW of generation, 574 MW/4,592 MWh long-duration storage, and 1,075 MW/2,980 MWh firming capacity under the 4 tender rounds concluded so far.
Meanwhile, the Central-West Orana REZ transmission project has secured planning approval, becoming the 1st REZ in Australia to achieve this milestone. It will pave the way for grid connection of large-scale solar, wind, and energy storage projects. For this zone, the government expects at least 4.5 GW transmitted electricity and up to AUD 20 billion in private investment in solar, wind and energy storage projects.