The Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) is the first REZ established by the NSW Government. It will cover is approximately 20,000 square kilometres and will be located between Wellington, Dunnedo and Merriwa in NSW.
The REZ will initially include three energy hubs with potential for a fourth. It has an intended network capacity of six gigawatts by 2038.
Key Dates
| May 2020 | ROIs for the development of projects in the REZ opened. |
| Jun 2020 | ROIs for the development of projects in the REZ closed. |
| Dec 2022 | Construction of projects in the REZ expected to commence. |
| Apr 2024 | Access Rights Application Process opens |
| Apr 2024 | Access Rights Application Part 1 (eligibility) submissions close |
| May 2024 | Access Rights Application Part 2 (merit) submissions close |
| May 2025 | Contract Award |
Funding contributions
| NSW Government | |
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The NSW Government's contribution is to develop the REZ, including the establishment of the Energy Corporation of NSW, which will coordinate the development of the REZ. In October 2023, $128 million of funding from the Transmission Acceleration Fund was provided to communities int he Central-West Orana REZ. This funding is not for energy infrastrucutre but rather community benefits such as public infrastructure upgrades, housing and accomodatino, or health and education. |
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Procurement
| Procuring Agency: | Energy Corporation of NSW |
| Successful Tenderer: | Valley of the Winds (ACEN) Birriwa Solar Farm and Battery (ACEN) Sandy Creek Solar Farm and Battery (Lightsource bp) Cobbora Solar Farm and Battery (Pacific Partnerships) Tallawang Solar Hybrid (Potentia Energy) Spicers Creek Wind Farm (Squadron Energy) Liverpool Range Wind Farm (stages 1 and 2) (Tilt Renewables) |
| Related contracts: |
PROJECT HISTORY
| May 2020 | Registrations of Interest for renewable generation and storage projects in the REZ opened, closing on 5 June. |
| Jun 2020 | The NSW Government revealed 113 Registrations of Interest were received, with proposals representing an estimated 27 gigawatts of total capacity. |
| Mar 2021 | The NSW Government released the Central-West Orana REZ Access Scheme Issues Paper for public consultation. The Paper identifies the key features of the REZ's transmission project. |
| Oct 2021 | The Central-West Orana REZ was formally declared by the Minister for Energy and Environment under section 19(1) of the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Act 2020. The original declaration specified a network capacity of 3GW. |
| Nov 2021 | The formal declaration of the Central-West Orana REZ was published in the NSW Gazette. |
| Sep 2022 | Scoping Report released. |
| Oct 2022 | Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs) issued. |
| May 2023 | The NSW Government released the Network Infrastructure Strategy, a 20-year strategy for the practical coordination of NSW network infrastructure to connect new generation and storage in NSW’s five Renewable Energy Zones, and meet the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Act 2020 objectives. The Strategy identified a need to increase network capacity in the Central-West Orana REZ and recommended options to increase the network capacity of the Central-West Orana REZ from 3 GW up to 4.5 GW initially under Stage 1, and to 6 GW by 2038 under Stage 2. |
| Sep 2023 | The NSW Government invited Open Tenders for a REZ Network Infrastructure Technical Advisor for the project, closing 3 October. The successful tenderer will be for technical engineering support and design for the project. |
| Sep 2023 | Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) released. |
| Dec 2023 | The government announced that the REZ declaration has been amended to increase the intended network capacity to 6 gigawatt (GW) from 3GW. |
| Apr 2024 | EnergyCo published draft guidelines for applicants seeking Central-West Orana REZ access rights. These draft guidelines detail how EnergyCo will invite, accept and assess applications for access rights and set out eligibility criteria. |
| Apr 2024 | EnergyCo announced that the Central-West Orana REZ access rights application process had opened, with Part 1 (eligibility) submissions closing on 29 April and Part 2 (merit) submissions closing on 24 May 2024. |
| Jun 2024 | Notice of Decision. |
| Dec 2024 | The Energy Corporation of NSW (EnergyCo) released its inaugural Corporate Strategy, which included a goal to have the Central-West Orana REZ Stage One complete by 2030. |
| Feb 2025 | EnergyCo called for Expressions of Interest for service providers across six categories to support delivery of the project, closing on 17 March. Categories include Commercial and Finance; Delivery - Construction; Project Controls; Delivery - Technical; Communications and Stakeholders (including First Nations Support); and Connections, Operations and Commissioning. |
| Apr 2025 | EnergyCo awarded a contract to BMD Constructions to deliver the first stage of the $128 million Port to REZ Program. The Program involves the upgrade of key roads and intersections to enable transportation of equipment to construct renewable energy projects in regional NSW. The scope of works includes upgrades at 19 locations to enable access to the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone, from the Port of Newcastle to Elong Elong near Dubbo. |
| May 2025 | AEMO Services published the final Access Fee Guidelines for the REZ. |
| May 2025 | EnergyCo awarded access rights to 10 renewable energy generators and projects in the REZ, with a total capacity of 7.15 gigawatts of renewable energy and storage capacity. The projects are the 919-megawatt Valley of the Winds wind farm (ACEN), the 600-megawatt Birriwa Solar farm and 600-megawatt Battery (ACEN), the 700-megawatt Sandy Creek Solar Farm and 700-megawatt battery (Lightsource bp), the 700-megawatt Cobbora Solar Farm and 400-megawatt Battery (Pacific Partnerships), the 500-megawatt Tallawang Solar Hybrid (Potentia Energy), the 700-megawatt Spicers Creek Wind Farm (Squadron Energy), and the 1.3-gigawatt Liverpool Range Wind Farm, Stages One and Two (Tilt Renewables). |
Sector
Energy
Procurement approach
Unconfirmed |
Location
New South Wales |
Resources
Government resources
Central-West Orana REZ Access Rights Application ProcessCentral-West Orana REZ Access Rights Application Process
Central West Orana REZ Access Fee Guidelines (May 2025)
Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales
NSW Network Infrastructure Strategy
Media releases
2020/06/23 (NSW Government)2020/06/23 (ARENA)
2022/05/04
2023/12/20 amended capacity
2025/05/08 - Access rights granted
2025/04/16 - Port to REZ Contract Award
