New South Wales gets 17GW of proposals for latest renewable energy zone

• The Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) has actually obtained applications for 17GW of renewables generation as well as storage projects for its planned Illawarra Renewable Energy Zone (REZ).

The action for the registration of interest (ROI) held in June as well as July 2022 for the current REZ has been "remarkable", with strong rate of interest in offshore wind, energy storage space and also green hydrogen, according to the state's preacher for energy, Matt Kean.

Interest in 44 projects equating to AU$ 43 billion (US$ 29.6 billion) in potential financial investment has been signed up in five solar PV farms, 16 energy storage space projects, 4 pumped hydro projects and also 10 wind farms, according to a declaration by the NSW government.

Four hydrogen manufacturing and two hydrogen electricity generation projects have actually likewise been signed up, along with three new lots projects, consisting of green steel manufacturing.

"This highlights the range of large-scale energy projects being developed in the area, that will certainly make sure the Illawarra plays a role as the powerhouse of the renewable energy economic climate," said Kean.

Previous REZs in NSW have actually had greater applications of renewable generation, with 40GW for the Hunter-Central Coast previously this year, 34GW for the South West area in February 2022, 34GW for the New England region last year as well as 27GW for the Central-West Orana in June 2020.

In complete there are prepare for five NSW REZs, with the Illawarra being the last one obtaining applications for renewable generation and energy storage space that will certainly help replace coal-fired power stations that are set to retire over the next 10 to 15 years.

In order to speed up the connection of planned REZs, the state revealed in June 2022 an AU$ 1.2 billion investment in new transmission lines and also infrastructure in the next decade.

The Energy Corporation of NSW (EnergyCo), a statutory authority controlled by the state government, will be using the information from this ROI to notify the timing, style as well as location of the Illawarra REZ.

It is expected that the Illawarra REZ will certainly be formally stated under the NSW Government's Electricity Roadmap regulations by the end of 2022.