NSW declares fifth renewable energy zone, with offshore wind and storage focus

The NSW state government has officially declared the fifth renewable energy zone – this time in the Illawarra region – as part of its roadmap to replace the country’s biggest coal grid with renewables and storage over the next decade.

The declaration of the Illawarra REZ follows similar declaration for the Central West Orana, New England, Hunter, and South West REZs – all designed to foster and host at leat 12GW of new wind, solar and storage projects.

The Illawarra REZ – like the Hunter REZ – will have a large component of offshore wind, thanks to the respective port facilities that were built as a legacy of the coal and steel industries in those two regions.

So far, up to 17GW worth of projects, worth more than $40 billion, have been proposed for the region – mostly for offshore wind projects.

“The Illawarra has a proud history of manufacturing and the REZ will only build on this legacy, powering existing and emerging industries such as offshore wind, green hydrogen and green steel production,” energy minister Matt Kean said in a statement.

“The Illawarra is an ideal region to host a REZ, thanks to its existing energy, port and transport infrastructure, its highly skilled workforce and strong demand from existing industries to decarbonise.

“This is a huge win for the Illawarra with projects registering their interest showing a potential to create more than 8,300 jobs, not including the huge employment potential of offshore wind.”

The initial call for projects for the Illawarra REZ unlocked interest in investments in wind, battery storage, pumped hydro, hydrogen and new load projects, including green steel manufacturing.

Last week, Port Kembla, announced plans to turn itself into a support base for a future offshore wind industry,  unveiling two concept plans for its outer harbour.

The Wollongong port is already an import hub for onshore wind farm components and the port operator also wants to add hydrogen to the mix.