NSW super-sizes first renewable zone as it races to meet coal closure deadlines

The New South Wales government has announced a significant increase in the capacity of its first renewable energy zone – effectively doubling its size as it races to ensure there is enough new capacity in the grid to replace its ageing coal fired power stations.

The Central West Orana zone is the first of five REZs that have or will be created by the state government to host new wind, solar and storage projects to replace the five coal fired power stations that could all close within the next decade.

The CWO zone – based around Dubbo – was to be sized at 3GW, but the state government through EnergyCo is now looking to boost this to 4.5GW initially and then to 6GW by 2038.

It says this follows recent modelling by the Consumer Trustee – AEMO Services – that shows more network capacity will be needed to meet NSW’s future energy needs as coal-fired power stations progressively retire.

“To align with this, the NSW Government is proposing to amend the Central-West Orana REZ declaration to increase the intended network capacity to 6GW,” EnergyCo says.

It notes that the initial expansion to 4.5GW will not mean any changes to the infrastructure that has been planned and negotiated over the last two years, and any expansions in stage 2 to 6GW will be subject to  separate planning and regulatory approval processes.

This will include detailed community consultation and environmental assessment under the NSW planning system.

The announcement comes ahead of a Murdoch-media and Gina Rinehart sponsored “Bush Summit” in Tamworth this week, where former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce is seeking to lead protests against new transmission lines and renewable zones across the country.

The CWO renewable zone has already had to modify its route to take into account landowner concerns, leading to a significant increase in the costs of the project and potential significant delays.

The NSW government is under intense pressure to fast-track the roll out of wind, solar and storage on one side, and under intense pressure to delay the closure of coal fired power stations, particularly the 2.8GW Eraring plant, on the other.

In recent weeks the state government has promised to speed up the planning approvals process that has seen just two wind farm approvals in the last four years.

It has also announced a near three-fold increase in its tender for “firming capacity” under a deal with the federal government, and is currently assessing the results of its second tender for new wind and solar and long duration storage after being swamped with proposals for three times the capacity sought.

“Having the right amount of network capacity in the Central-West Orana REZ is critical to deliver the clean, affordable and reliable energy required to meet NSW’s net zero targets,” EnergyCo says.

“It will allow the Central-West Orana REZ design to cost-effectively accommodate future expansion and provide flexibility to deliver the right energy system security and reliability measures as we transition our economy away from a reliance on fossil fuels.”

It notes that the proposed declaration amendment relates to the intended network capacity only and will not impact the geographical size of the REZ, which covers an area of about 20,000 square kilometres around Dubbo.

EnergyCo is inviting communities and stakeholders to comment on the draft declaration amendment for the Central-West Orana REZ. Consultation will close on September 4, 2023.