Enough wind, solar and batteries to power 2.7 millions of homes at peak generation have been given the go-ahead to connect to new power lines.
Clean energy and storage projects totalling more than 7.15 gigawatts capacity have been granted access to the renewable energy zone in NSW’s central west.
The agreements are enough to power more than half the homes in Australia’s most populous state by 2031, during peak periods, as it winds down dependence on coal.
NSW Climate Change and Energy Minister Penny Sharpe said the Central-West Orana renewable energy zone connections would secure billions of dollars of private investment.
“By unlocking new renewable capacity and enhancing battery storage, we are making our power grid more reliable and putting downward pressure on bills.”
Governments identify zones for big renewables projects to plan efficiently for the poles and wires needed to transport the electricity to homes and businesses.
Projects must have access rights before they can connect to transmission infrastructure.
NSW Nationals leader Dugald Saunders said the new connections “miss the mark”.
“It’s all well and good to acknowledge 10 projects have now got an access agreement. But there’s no recognition of the dozens of other projects in the region that don’t, and which continue to cause anger and unrest,” he said.
He said there were somewhere between 50 and 60 projects proposed for the Central-West Orana renewable energy zone and most of those were looking at tapping into existing powerlines.
“The cumulative impact is not being taken into consideration in any way, shape, or form by this government,” he said.
Clean energy proponents celebrated Thursday’s announcement, which followed a resounding election win for Federal Labor committed to chasing its 82 per cent renewable energy target.
Climate Councillor and energy expert Greg Bourne said NSW was making progress on its energy transition by strategically building out connections between projects and transmission infrastructure via renewable energy zones.
“Growing our wind and solar generation capacity is integral to fortifying Australia’s energy mix as polluting coal use declines,” he said.
NSW’s biggest power station, the Origin Energy-owned 2.88-gigawatt Eraring plant, was set to close this year but that was delayed for two years under a deal with the state government to avoid potential power shortages and price spikes.
The latest numbers from the Australian Energy Market Operator had renewables contributing 43 per cent of energy mix to the main grid in the first three months of 2025, up from 39 per cent over same period in 2024.
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