And it will take input from all states to achieve this 2050 target.  

In New South Wales (NSW), there is extensive planning and development of renewable energy zones (REZs) — areas with high concentrations of clean, renewable energy. Developing these REZs with renewable energy generators, energy storage, and transmission capacity will provide NSW with the power to harness clean energy, reduce electric costs, and retire coal-fired power plants.  

The Central-West Orana REZ — The Pilot Program  

Formally declared on 5 November 2021, The Central-West Orana region was selected to be the first developed NSW REZ because of its proximity to the existent transmission network and for the area’s abundance of renewable energy resources. This pilot REZ is set to begin construction at the end of 2022 and is slated to deliver 3 GW of clean, renewable energy to the state’s electricity grid by mid-2020s.  

The state’s June 2020 Request of Interest (ROI) demonstrated incredible enthusiasm for the project, garnering 113 registrations of interest whose combined generation would contribute 27 GW of energy generation — nine times the amount designated for this REZ. This incredible interest incentivised the state to consider larger-scale projects for upcoming REZ in the state’s Energy Infrastructure Roadmap. 

The overflow of interest will allow NSW to be selective with its development, enabling the state to move forward with developers and plans that bring the greatest overall benefit to the region. It’s estimated that during peak development, the REZ will support 3,900 construction jobs — keeping those jobs local will boost the regional economy. In addition to job creation, a portion of the access fees paid by generating stations to guarantee connectivity to the transmission network will go directly to the local region and is estimated to bring $265 million to host communities by 2042.  

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has deemed the Central-West Orana REZ an ‘actionable’ transmission project, which means it is critical to address cost, security, and reliability issues across the entire National Electricity Market. With solar and wind being the most economic forms of power generation across Australia, the Central-West Orana REZ offers significant opportunity for the state to wean off uncompetitive coal-fired plants and drive down utility costs.   

New England REZ — The Largest REZ in NSW 

With momentum spurring from the outstanding interest for the Central-West Orana REZ, NSW increased the scope for its New England REZ to generate an expected 8 GW of energy, making it the largest REZ in the NSW roadmap. 

Given the rich potential for pumped-hydro projects in the New England area, this REZ will likely incorporate pumped-hydro technology into its infrastructure buildout, although the project is not yet to the stage of detailing development plans.  

The size and scope of the New England REZ are expected to support 830 operational jobs and 1,250 construction jobs each year. When completed, it should sufficiently power 3.5 million homes and enhance the area’s energy resiliency by connecting to existing high-voltage power lines that connect NSW and Queensland and allow NSW to export surplus energy to the neighbouring state.   

Other REZs in the NSW Roadmap  

The Central-West Orana REZ and New England REZ combined make NSW the leading state in Australia for investment in renewable energy. On top of these two REZ locations, NSW also includes three other REZ sites in its Energy Infrastructure Roadmap:  

1.  South-West REZ — Chosen for large availability of solar resources and proximity to transmission project EnergyConnect, this REZ is currently in the Request for Interest phase, which will be open until the end of November.  

2. Hunter-Central Coast & Illawarra REZs — These are the final two proposed REZs in the NSW Energy Infrastructure Roadmap. As with the other three REZ sites, these will take a number of years to plan and develop, and this planning phase will heavily involve communication and feedback from stakeholders to assure development coincides with regional economic activity and local community values.  

Electricity in NSW is currently powered primarily by coal. That is set to change as coal-fired power plants are scheduled to retire in the upcoming decades. The first set to shut down operations is the Liddell plant in the Hunter Valley region, planned to be fully closed in 2023. Others are expected to close in following years.

This adds gravity to the situation of advancing NSW REZ development so that the state continues to have reliable energy as it phases out coal.  
 
In addition to providing energy security, REZ development can also help transition Australia towards other energy markets as global demand for its coal exports declines. 

The post NSW Renewable Energy Zones Offer Smart Strategy to Phase Off Coal appeared first on Northmore Gordon.

Even with these positive trends, coal still powers 54% of Australia’s electricity generation. As plans to phase out coal-fired plants continue, an increase to install more dispatchable energy is required to meet Australia’s energy demand. REZs are poised to be the power stations of the future. They will usher in an era of clean energy as Australia looks to fulfil its Paris Climate Agreement commitments and contribute towards the fight against climate change.

What are Renewable Energy Zones? (REZ)

Renewable Energy Zones, also known as REZ, are areas identified as having an abundance of renewable energy resource — mostly solar, wind, or pumped hydro — and therefore suitable areas to build out large-scale renewable energy generating stations and transmission capacity to deliver clean, reliable, and cost-effective energy to homes and businesses.

How REZ Will Benefit Australian Environment & Economy

Renewable Energy Zones provide a range of economic and environmental benefits. With the overload of interest towards REZ development, states can be selective when choosing developers, making sure to best align environmental consciousness with the economic development of local and statewide economies.

Diversify energy profile — The majority of Australia’s transportation and industry is powered by fossil fuels. Under national efforts to curb this trend, there are plans to retire a number of coal-fired power plants in the upcoming decade. Introducing large-scale wind, solar, and hydro projects enable a healthy diversification of clean and reliable energy sources that can power Australia towards a carbon-free society.

Lower energy costs — The large-scale deployment of renewable energy infrastructure enables REZ developers to take advantage of economies of scale. With relatively low operating costs, once up and running, Renewable Energy Zones will deliver lower wholesale electricity prices resulting in lower energy bills for end-users.

Reduce pollution — One of the hallmark benefits of renewable energy sources, like solar, wind and hydro, is their capacity to generate clean energy. Generating power from renewable energy or other naturally occurring energy does not emit greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, unlike burning coal or natural gas.

Support local economy —Renewable Energy Zones will bring significant economic development to local economies. New South Wales REZ generating stations have fixed costs that guarantee interconnectivity to transmission lines. A portion of these access fees is set to go directly to local communities, anticipated to bring a cool $265 million to host communities by 2042.

Various states are making local economic development a priority for their REZ buildout plans. The NSW pilot REZ in Central-West Orana is anticipated to support 3,900 construction jobs at its peak. The pilot program and the New England REZ together will support 1,700 long-term jobs.

Substantial Buzz Around REZ

The growing consensus that human activity is indeed a driving factor of climate change has led governments, businesses, and consumers looking to take greater control of their energy generation and be part of the solution.

Several Australian states have substantial buzz around REZ projects capable of delivering significant amounts of clean, reliable energy.

New South Wales

The incredible response to registration of interest (ROI) for the first proposed New South Wales (NSW) REZ in Central-West Orana has put the state in the driver’s seat, allowing it to select developers that are best suited to enrich local communities and to plan for even larger projects for its other 4 proposed REZ in New England, South-West, Hunter-Central Coast, and Illawarra.

Central-West Orana, the pilot REZ, is planned to start construction at the end of 2022 and is set to deliver 3 GW of energy by the mid-2020s, enough electricity to power roughly 1.4 million homes.

The New England site is slated to be the largest REZ in NSW, with a projected capacity of 8 GW — enough juice to power 3.5 million homes. Infrastructure buildout is being strategically designed to offer the flexibility of exporting excess energy to neighbouring state Queensland.

Victoria

Half of Victoria’s carbon emissions come from electricity generation, making the establishment of REZs and buildout of clean energy generation stations critical to its climate action plan. Victoria has defined six areas for REZs with a keen eye towards advancing development on the western three sites in Murray River, Western Victoria, and South-West. The Victorian government has committed $540 million towards REZ infrastructure development and the formation of a coordinating body, VicGrid.

Victoria has already given out a Registration of Interest, and contracts for REZ projects should be cemented by the first quarter of 2022.

Queensland

Queensland has established three Renewable Energy Zones — Northern, Central, and Southern. Throughout development phase, Queensland REZ received significant levels of interest from prospective developers: 72 projects registered their interest in the Southern REZ; 67 projects registered interest for Central REZ; 53 projects registered for Northern REZ.

Queensland has already begun construction on the Northern REZ with the start of the Kaban Green Power Hub, a 157 MW wind farm with connected 100 MW battery. Kaban Green Power Hub is projected to be operational in 2023.

Queensland has been actively engaging with the community in 2021 to align stakeholder interests and make sure that priority alignment exists to maximize economic production and community benefits while the state works toward its goal of 50% renewables by 2030.

The interest in developing Renewable Energy Zones highlights the impressive investment potential for these projects. While these projects have generated significant interest and investment opportunities, the development will not happen overnight. Strategic development of both energy generation and grid transmission has to be coordinated in order to safely and reliably deliver power from these renewable energy generating stations to the homes and businesses in need. It’s also important that the communities most impacted by this new development are included in the process and see the economic and labour benefits of hosting the renewable energy stations.

Renewable Energy Zones present an exciting future for Australia as states embrace the transition to clean energy and embark on a journey to drastically change the energy landscape from one beholden to coal to one empowered by clean, renewable power.

The post The Power & Potential of REZ appeared first on Northmore Gordon.