South West Renewable Energy Zone Access Scheme
The Renewable Energy Zone (South West) Access Scheme Order 2024 (South West REZ Access Scheme) was formally declared by the Minister for Energy under section 24(1) of the Act on Friday 12 April 2024. The Access Scheme Declaration is available in the NSW Government Gazette.
View the South West Renewable Energy Zone Access Scheme Declaration
Key features of the South West Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) Access Scheme include:
- a community benefits program funded through fees paid by renewable energy and storage developers for community and employment purposes
- a target transmission curtailment level of 3.86 per cent and initial aggregate maximum capacity cap of 3.98 gigawatts to ensure higher utilisation of the network infrastructure
- flexibility on the location of projects not located wholly within the REZ geographical area to provide more opportunity for investment.
The scheme applies to significant components of the NSW-side of Project EnergyConnect, including infrastructure between Buronga and Wagga Wagga, and incorporating the planned substation at Dinawan. It will also incorporate the NSW-side of the proposed VNI West.
Access rights in the South West REZ
Four renewable energy and storage projects have been granted access rights in the South West REZ, with a total allocated capacity of 3.56 GW. This follows a competitive access rights tender process by AEMO Services Limited.
| Project | Developer | Maximum capacity for access rights (megawatts / MW) | Technology type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bullawah Wind Farm | BayWa R.E. Project Australia Pty Ltd | 262.3 (MW) | Wind |
| Pottinger Energy Park | Someva Ptd Ltd and AGL Energy Hubs Ltd | 831.2 MW | Wind and battery energy storage system (BESS) |
| Yanco Delta Wind Farm | Origin Energy Pty Ltd | 1,460 MW | Wind |
| Dinawan Energy Hub Point of Connection 1 | Spark Renewables Pty Ltd | 357 MW | Wind |
| Dinawan Energy Hub Point of Connection 2 | Spark Renewables Pty Ltd | 350 MW | Wind |
| Dinawan Energy Hub Point of Connection 3 | Spark Renewables Pty Ltd | 300 MW | Solar and BESS |
Please see the Access Rights Register for further details on each Access Right Holder.
See the Access Rights Register
Completion of the Initial Allocation
Under the Access Scheme, EnergyCo has determined that the initial allocation of Access Rights in the South West REZ is now complete. Please see the formal Notification of Completion of the Initial Allocation for more information.
Notificaton on the Completion of the Initial Allocation
The South West REZ will also include two new transmission projects , Project EnergyConnect (PEC) and Victoria NSW Interconnector West (VNI West). Both of these projects are planned, delivered, and operated by Transgrid.
The four projects connecting in to South West REZ are expected to bring in more than more than $17 billion in private investment, with more than $10 billion flowing into the NSW economy during construction and operation.
The four projects will generate more than 2,800 direct construction jobs during their peak and approximately 200 direct ongoing jobs through operations.
These projects have been selected through a rigorous and competitive tender evaluation process conducted by AEMO Services Limited’ assessed all bids against seven merit criteria. These include:
- impact on the electricity system
- pathway to commercial operation
- organisational capacity to deliver project
- community engagement and shared benefits and land use considerations
- financial value and commercial departures
- regional economic development.
Learn more on the AEMO Services website
Consultation on the South West REZ Access Scheme
This public exhibition was conducted in line with the statutory process for the declaration of access schemes under Section 24 of the Act.
A refined Draft South West REZ Access Scheme was placed on exhibition between 21 December 2023 and 5 February 2024. The refined Draft Access Scheme was published alongside a Supplementary Position Paper that explained the refinements made since May 2023.
The refinements were based on feedback received through the first consultation where 26 submissions were received from developers and other stakeholders.
More than 300 people attended a webinar on Monday 29 January 2024 to learn more about the Draft Access Scheme updates, and 17 submissions were made to the consultation on the refined Draft Access Scheme.
Supporting documents
- Refined Draft Renewable Energy Zone (South West) Access Scheme Order 2023 (December 2023)
- South West REZ Access Scheme Position Paper (March 2023)
- Supplementary Position Paper (December 2023)
- Webinar: Refined South West REZ Draft Access Scheme (January 2024)
The initial Draft South West REZ Access Scheme was placed on exhibition between 2 March and 15 May 2023. The Draft Access Scheme was published alongside the South West REZ Access Scheme Position Paper that provides an explanation of key concepts.
A webinar was held on the Friday 28 April 2023 to provide an overview of the Draft Access Scheme, and 26 submissions were made to the initial consultation.
Supporting documents
- Draft Renewable Energy Zone (South West) Access Scheme Order 2023 (March 2023)
- South West REZ Access Scheme Position Paper (March 2023)
- Webinar: South West REZ Draft Access Scheme (April 2023)
Connection process for the South West REZ Access Scheme
Generation projects will need to hold an access right to make an application to connect to the access rights network, specified in the South West REZ Access Scheme Declaration.
The Electricity Infrastructure Investment Regulation 2021 makes certain modifications to Chapter 5 of the National Electricity Rules (NER). Once an access scheme has been declared, the following adjustments to the connection process apply:
- Connection enquiries can no longer be made through the NER process for a project seeking to connect to the access rights network. However, the access rights tender process will provide an alternative process.
- A person cannot submit an application to connect a generating system to the access rights network unless they hold an access right.
- A network service provider cannot make an offer to connect a generating system to the access rights network unless the project proponent holds an access right. This includes any projects that have submitted an application to connect before the declaration of an access scheme. This is consistent with policy positions on grandfathering published in the March 2023 Position Paper and December 2023 Supplementary Position Paper.
Learn more
Contact Us
For more information, please contact [email protected].
For queries regarding the South West REZ access rights tender, please visit the AEMO Services website.