New South Wales Govt’s First Auction Underway for 12 GW RE Zones

The State Government of New South Wales, Australia, has officially kicked off the country’s biggest renewable energy and storage policy, the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap that paves way for a cheaper, cleaner and more reliable energy future for the state. The state government held that the auctions will take place every six months.

Minister for Energy Matt Kean said the undergoing exercise is the first in a series of bi-annual tenders over 10 years to replace retiring coal fired power stations with modern electricity infrastructure.

“NSW is targeting the construction of 12 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030, enough to power the equivalent of 5.8 million homes, as well as 2 gigawatts of long duration storage like pumped hydro, making this the biggest renewable energy policy in Australia’s history,” Kean added.

He also mentioned, “The opening of the first tender marks a major milestone in the delivery of our renewable energy and storage plans, it’s expected to create a jobs and investment boom across NSW.”

Kean said that the Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap is the State’s landmark energy policy designed to replace the generation capacity from four out of five of NSW’s coal-fired power stations, which are scheduled to retire in the next 11 years.

NSW is building five Renewable Energy Zones across the State to produce cheap and clean electricity for generations to come and create major investment opportunities for industry and small businesses.

Kean said that Russian invasion of Ukraine has put enormous pressure on power prices and shows why Australia needs to fast track its renewable energy plans to replace ageing power stations and reduce its reliance on generation that relies on volatile international commodity prices.

The Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap is forecast to lead to savings of around $130 a year on average on the typical household electricity bill and $430 a year on the average small business electricity bill between 2023 and 2040, compared to if the Roadmap is not implemented.

The government held that the bids’ registration is open until October 28, 2022, which is when project bids will close. The Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) that lies in the area surrounding Dubbo region is the focus of the first tender round.