The New South Wales government has set aside $128.5 million in the latest state budget to upgrade roads from the port of Newcastle to renewable energy zones to support the transport of giant wind turbine blades and towers and other heavy equipment.
The funding was announced on Tuesday as part of the budget’s $3.5 billion commitment to climate change and energy spending.
The upgrades will initially prioritise the route to the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone near Dubbo from the Port of Newcastle.
Wind turbine blades nearly 80 metres long require complex transport logistics and manouvering, usually at night, and some of the other machinery, such as transformers, can weight up to 477 tonnes. Many regional councils have expressed concern about the impact on local roads, and the cost of maintenance.
Among the other announcements included in the budget was $149 million to co-fund EV fast chargers, $105 million to support business and local government fleets in procuring EVs and charging infrastructure, and $20 million to co-fund EV destination chargers at regional tourist destinations throughout the state.
A further $10 million has been allocated to co-fund EV kerbside chargers throughout metropolitan NSW and another $10 million to co-fund EV ready buildings to retrofit EV infrastructure in apartment buildings.
The NSW government has also committed a further $263.5 million to support the rollout of an updated NSW EV Strategy.
The NSW 2024-25 budget also includes $238.9 million for the forthcoming Consumer Energy Strategy and $435.4 million to increase the value of energy bill rebates in an effort to assist households with elevated costs of living.
This boost to the value of rebates includes $10 million to launch a pilot program which will help to provide debt relief for people in critical need.
Other key budget allocations include $15.8 million to make the state’s energy system safer, more reliable, and better equipped to manage the increasing levels of energy-saving and renewable technologies.
A further $87.5 million has been allocated over four years to make energy-saving upgrades to social housing properties.
A total of $3.1 billion has also been allocated to deliver the state’s renewable energy zones – Central West Orana, New England, South West, Hunter Central Coast, and Illawarra.
These renewable energy zones are billed as “modern day power stations” and will group new wind and solar power generation and storage where it can be efficiently stored and transmitted across the state.
“The REZs will keep NSW electricity reliable and affordable as coal-fired power stations retire, delivering large amounts of new energy to power our regions and cities,” according to the NSW budget papers.
Meanwhile, $1 billion has also been allocated to seed the creation of the Energy Security Corporation which will accelerate private sector investments in clean energy projects, with a likely focus on pumped hydro.
