Overview
- The NSW Opposition announced on Wednesday a policy to prioritise a Sydney City Renewable Energy Zone, accelerate REZ work in Newcastle and Wollongong, back an Outback REZ near Broken Hill, and cap the New England REZ by cancelling its planned 500kV transmission corridor.
- The plan would expand rooftop and industrial solar plus battery rollouts in cities and create a proposed Delivery Coordination Office to speed urban projects and work with councils and industry.
- Premier Chris Minns and Labor rejected the proposal, warning that capping the New England REZ would strand billions in investment and push energy prices higher by delaying large-scale generation needed to replace retiring coal.
- Energy experts and developers cautioned that an urban REZ cannot substitute one-for-one for high-wind regional farms and a cancelled transmission corridor could delay generation and prolong reliance on ageing coal plants.
- The announcement breaks recent bipartisan consensus, reflects political pressure on Nationals MPs over regional opposition to REZs, and follows developer interest in inland or outback alternatives from firms such as Squadron Energy, Iberdrola and Acciona.