NSW doubles its spend on transmission to connect more renewables, faster

The New South Wales government has budgeted a further $2.1 billion to help drive the state’s increasingly urgent transmission buildout, including poles and wires to connect its five Renewable Energy Zones.

The Labor Minns government said on Tuesday that the 2025-26 state budget funding boost to the Transmission Acceleration Facility would be spread over four years and across the REZs at Central-West Orana, New England, Hunter-Central Coast, Illawarra and South West.

The government says the $2.1 billion completes the financing arrangements of the Central-West Orana (CWO) REZ transmission project, where 10 new projects totaling a combined 7 gigawatts (GW) of renewable generation and storage had been awarded access rights.

The CWO transmission project will add 90km of 500 kV transmission lines and 150km of 330 kV transmission lines – a total of around 240km – between Wollar and proposed substations at Merotherie and Elong Elong and will cost around $3.2 billion.

Another $115.5 million in state budget funds will go towards the construction of a logistics precinct at the Port of Newcastle, to be used for the storage and transportation of critical grid infrastructure components.

The state’s Community and Employment Benefit program gets a further $128 million to put towards communities that host the CWO REZ, with future funding for the other REZ host communities. 

The Clean Energy Council welcomed the NSW government’s new spend on transmission – an almost doubling on the $1.1 billion invested by the state so far – describing it as a “landmark investment” and “powerful message” of commitment to the energy transition.

“This Budget announcement marks a major step forward in fast-tracking the construction of transmission lines and energy storage systems necessary to integrate new wind and solar projects into the grid,” CEC chief Kane Thornton said on Tuesday.

“With this investment, NSW continues to lead the nation in its dedication to building the infrastructure needed to unlock the full potential of renewable energy while phasing out outdated and unreliable coal-fired power stations.”

Renewables advocacy group Solar Citizens said that while it welcomed the support for large-scale renewables, the budget was a “missed opportunity” to support household clean energy options. 

“We are concerned that – just like the recent decision to roll back the NSW battery rebate – this budget shows the Minns government is taking a back seat while the federal government drives consumer energy uptake with their $2.3 billion Cheaper Home Batteries program,” Solar Citizens CEO Heidi Lee Douglas said.

“Rooftop solar uptake in NSW is below the national average. Many households face barriers and remain locked into expensive electricity and gas bills – particularly people who live in apartments and renters.”

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