New South Wales

Origin Energy’s announcement that it is accelerating the closure of Australia’s largest coal-fired power station has triggered calls for the Federal Government to develop a nationally co-ordinated approach to manage the retirement of fossil fuel generation as well as support investment in new clean energy generation.

Major construction work on the first new electricity interconnector to be built between Australian states in 15 years has commenced with transmission company ElectraNet confirming work has begun on the South Australian section of the $2.3 billion Project EnergyConnect which will link power grids across three states, potentially unlocking gigawatts of renewable energy projects in its path.

Renewable energy investors have again shattered the New South Wales Government’s expectations with more than 80 clean energy projects representing more than $100 billion of potential investment registering for the Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone.

A group of New South Wales local councils have banded together to secure a power procurement agreement with solar-focused electricity retailer Mojo Power that they say will allow them to satisfy the electricity demands of their major infrastructure with 100% renewable energy while providing a path for participants to reduce their overall emissions.

Standalone power systems utilising solar PV and battery technology continue to gain traction in the Australian market with New South Wales Government-owned network service provider Essential Energy announcing it will seek input from customers living at the “edge of the grid” as it seeks to expand its roll out of the off-grid technology.

Renewable energy investors’ appetite for large-scale development in Australia appears far from sated with the New South Wales Government revealing almost 50 new solar PV, wind and energy storage projects, totalling more than 34 GW, have been proposed for the South-West Renewable Energy Zone.

The majority of voters in Australia’s historical coal and gas heartlands of New South Wales and Queensland believe the states’ future economic prosperity lies in clean industries, including renewable energy manufacturing and exports, and mining for critical battery minerals.

The New South Wales Government is forging ahead with plans to bring 12 GW of renewable energy and 2 GW of storage online by 2030 with the formal declaration of Australia’s second coordinated renewable energy zone in as many months.

A proposed 900-kilometre electricity interconnector that will link power grids across three Australian states, unlocking gigawatts of new wind, solar PV and storage projects has progressed further with New South Wales network operator TransGrid confirming the Environmental Impact Statement for the project’s eastern section has been submitted.

Researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) predict that growth to 60TW of photovoltaics needed to rapidly reduce emissions to ‘net zero’ and limit global warming to <2 °C could require up to 486 Mt of aluminium by 2050. A key concern for this large aluminium demand is its large global warming potential.