New South Wales has taken a major step in its clean-energy transition, with 10 projects having secured access rights to connect to the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (CWO REZ).
Renewable energy generators and projects that have successfully secured rights to connect to the CWO REZ:
- Valley of the Winds (wind farm) – ACEN (919MW)
- Birriwa Solar (solar facility) – ACEN (600MW)
- Birriwa Battery Energy Storage System (battery storage) – ACEN (600MW)
- Sandy Creek Solar (solar facility) – Lightsource bp (700MW))
- Sandy Creek Battery Energy Storage System (battery) – Lightsource bp (700MW)
- Cobbora Solar (solar facility) – Pacific Partnerships (700MW)
- Cobbora Battery Energy Storage System (battery) – Pacific Partnerships (400MW)
- Tallawang Solar Hybrid (solar and battery facility) – Potentia Energy (500MW)
- Spicers Creek Wind Farm (wind farm) – Squadron Energy (700MW)
- Liverpool Range Wind Farm (stages 1 and 2) (wind farm) – Tilt Renewables (1332MW)
When operational, the projects in the CWO REZ are expected to generate 15,000 gigawatt-hours of energy per year.
According to the Clean Energy Council (CEC), the move makes the CWO REZ the first officially declared renewable energy zone in Australia to allocate access rights under the state’s new REZ framework.
The selected projects will nearly double NSW’s current large-scale wind and solar generation capacity and are expected to provide enough power for 2.7 million homes during peak periods by 2031.
The zone is projected to attract billions of dollars in private investment and deliver more than 3000 jobs to the region.
“A wind, solar or energy storage project must hold an access right before it can connect to REZ network infrastructure,” the CEC said: “REZs group renewable energy projects into shared zones, allowing them to share infrastructure and supply chains and provide efficient energy generation and storage – helping to keep power prices lower.”
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