New England Renewable Energy Zone

The New England REZ was formally declared by the Minister for Energy under section 19(1) of the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Act 2020 (the EII act) and published in the NSW Gazette on 17 December 2021. 

View the Renewable Energy Zone (New England) Declaration Order.

The REZ declaration is the first step in formalising the REZ under the act and establishes EnergyCo as the infrastructure planner responsible for coordinating the development of the REZ. It also sets out the intended network capacity (size), geographical area (location) and infrastructure that will make up the REZ, and enables and sets the scope of key legislative functions under the act, including access schemes and REZ network solutions (referred to in the act as ‘REZ network infrastructure projects’).

As infrastructure planner, EnergyCo will make decisions such as assessing and recommending REZ network infrastructure projects and, if needed to maintain community support for the REZ, preventing generation or storage projects from connecting in a specified area within the REZ (if those projects have not received development consent).

The declaration follows an assessment of feedback received during the draft declaration exhibition period from 15 October to 12 November 2021. Minor adjustments to the geographical area have been made in response to the balanced consideration of proponent and community feedback. These amendments will also improve the delineation between areas captured within the REZ that are subject to potential future development and adjacent areas of national park and world heritage significance.

A stylised map of the specified geographical area of the REZ is included above for reference and accessibility purposes only. This stylised map does not form part of the declaration. The stylised map includes the existing 132 kV and 330 kV transmission infrastructure near and in the REZ as a geographical reference. You can download the GIS file of the New England REZ geographical area boundary in the location and maps section of this page.

In the future, the Minister may amend the declaration to expand the specified geographical area of the REZ, increase the intended network capacity, specify additional generation, storage and network infrastructure, provide further details and specifications or correct a minor error.

In October 2026 the Minister for Energy amended the New England Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) declaration to include a detailed description of the network infrastructure, including the energy hubs and transmission lines that extend outside the REZ geographical boundary to connect the REZ to the existing grid at Bayswater. 

This amendment was necessary to provide a formal description of the planned network infrastructure that will be considered through the access scheme, EIS and other regulatory processes.

It does not change any features of the REZ, such as the geographical boundary or its network (transfer capacity), or the New England REZ network infrastructure project, as set out in the New England REZ Scoping Report.  

The REZ declaration does not determine the final route and scope of the New England REZ network infrastructure project or replace the need for planning approval or environmental assessment.  

The final amendment incorporates feedback received from the community and industry. 

How feedback was considered

EnergyCo published the draft amendment to the New England Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) Declaration in August 2026 to identify if any clarifications were required. 

We considered submissions from generators, key industry groups, AEMO, local councils, community groups, individuals and government departments to help clearly specify the network infrastructure that is planned to form part of the REZ. 

Minor changes were adopted in the final declaration amendment to improve clarity including: 

• changes to schedule 2(g) to specify that planned, new and existing network infrastructure is within the specified geographical area of the REZ 
• corrections to wording in Schedule 1 and 2 clauses  
• corrections to voltage levels for specific transmission lines and names of specified infrastructure  
• updates to the map in Schedule 3 to add or correct details.  

Have questions about the proposed amendment?

Read our frequently asked questions (FAQs) for more information about what the amendment means for the New England REZ Network Infrastructure Project, including the project scope and approval processes.