Central-West Orana Transmission Project

Deal is sealed for Australia’s First Renewable Energy Zone

Australia’s first declared Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) will formally commence construction within months after the NSW Government awarded ACEREZ the contract and reached financial close to deliver the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) transmission project.

ACEREZ is now the network operator to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the Central-West Orana REZ transmission infrastructure for 35 years.

Learn more here

About the transmission project

The Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) will establish critical infrastructure that will connect solar and wind farms and energy storage to the NSW electricity grid. EnergyCo is leading the development of the REZ transmission network infrastructure as the Infrastructure Planner for the REZs in NSW.

EnergyCo is responsible for developing and overseeing the planning and approval processes for the REZ network infrastructure. In April 2025 EnergyCo appointed a consortium comprised of ACCIONA, COBRA and Endeavour Energy (ACEREZ) as the network operator for the REZ. ACEREZ will design, build, finance, operate and maintain the Central-West Orana REZ transmission infrastructure for 35 years.

To support the delivery of the transmission network infrastructure and the REZ as a whole, we are working closely with the developers of renewable energy projects to plan their connections into the network. We are also working with generators and other key stakeholders to develop strategies to manage cumulative impacts within the REZ and deliver community benefit initiatives.

Planning approvals

The Central-West Orana REZ transmission project secured State planning approval in June 2024 and Commonwealth planning approval in August 2024. This marks the first time a REZ in Australia has achieved this critical step under the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap. The project will deliver at least 4.5 gigawatts (GW) of transmitted electricity.

Planning approval follows detailed technical planning and extensive community consultation. The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was exhibited from late September until early November 2023 and included measures to avoid, minimise or mitigate potential environmental and community impacts. Community feedback informed a number of key changes to the project, which are described and assessed in an Amendment Report.

The project was declared a Critical State Significant Infrastructure (CSSI) project by the Minister for Planning. Under the NSW Environment Planning and Assessment Act 1979, all CSSI applications are required to go through a comprehensive environmental assessment process.

View the planning documents here

Next steps

EnergyCo will continue working with the community, impacted landowners, government agencies and other stakeholders to keep people informed of project progress.

Early work on the project started at the Merotherie Energy Hub site in February 2025 with construction set to start mid this year.

Working with industry

New work packages for constructing transmission lines in the Central-West Orana REZ were made available in July 2024 with more planned over the next year for tender opportunities across various categories.

Industry briefings were held between 29 July and 6 August and opened to local and Aboriginal businesses looking for opportunities to participate in the energy transition. These forums were an opportunity for businesses to learn about upcoming tender opportunities, scope of works, training, business support and resources.

EnergyCo delivered these forums in partnership with preferred network operator, ACEREZ, a consortium of ACCIONA, COBRA and Endeavour Energy. Close to 300 people attended the 11 forums that were delivered across six locations in the Central-West Orana region including Wellington, Dubbo, Mudgee, Coolah, Cassilis and Dunedoo.