The proposed transmission project aims to support the delivery of the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ).
The project will include two 500-kilovolt (kV) double circuits between Wollar and Merotherie, and new 330 kV lines to new energy hubs at Elong Elong, Uarbry East and Uarbry West. The project will deliver an extra 4.5 gigawatts of capacity and includes 90 kilometres of 500-kV lines and 150 kilometres of 330-kV lines.
The full scope of the project includes:
- New Merotherie 500/330 kV substation
- New Elong Elong 500/330 kV substation
- New 330 kV Uarbry East, Uarbry West, Elong Elong switching stations
- New 500 kV Wollar switching station
- New 330 kV Uungula switching station
- 2 x 500 kV DCST line from Wollar to Merotherie
- 1 x 330 kV DCST from Merotherie to Uarbry East
- 1 x 330 kV DCST from Merotherie to Uarbry West
- 2 x 500 kV DCST and initially operated at 330 kV from Merotherie to Elong Elong
- 1 x 330 kV DCST from Elong Elong to Uungula
- 5 x 100 MVAr synchronous condensers at Elong Elong switching station
- 5 x 100 MVAr synchronous condensers at Merotherie substation
- 2 x 100 MVAr synchronous condensers at Uarbry West switching station
- 3 x 100 MVAr synchronous condensers at Uarbry East switching station
- An additional 330 kV SCST line from Bayswater to Liddell, and
- An additional 330 kV SCST line from Mt Piper to Wallerawang
Transmission upgrades will be required to support the increase in renewable generation and storage in the REZ.
Key Dates
| Apr 2023 | Preferred Bidder Selection |
| Dec 2023 | Commitment Deed |
| Apr 2024 | Financial Close |
| Apr 2024 | Contract Award |
| Jun 2025 | Construction Commencement |
| Dec 2028 | Expected Construction Completion |
Funding contributions
| Federal Government | |
|
The Federal Government, through ARENA, has committed $5 million towards a $16.2 million feasibility study, to be undertaken by TransGrid, which will assess the technical and commercial options for the development of new high voltage transmission lines to enable the REZ. |
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Financing
| Debt Finance: | Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) |
Procurement
| Procuring Agency: | NSW EnergyCo |
| Shortlist: | Network Operator Shortlist: - ACE Energy comprising ACCIONA, Cobra and Endeavour Energy - Network REZolution comprising Pacific Partnerships, UGL, CPB and APA Group - NewGen Networks comprising Plenary, Elecnor, Essential Energy and SecureEnergy |
| Successful Tenderer: | The ACEREZ consortium comprising ACCIONA, COBRA and Endeavour Energy. |
| Adviser (Tenderer): | Capella Capital |
| Related contracts: |
PROJECT HISTORY
| Jun 2020 | On behalf of the Australian Government, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) committed $5 million in funding to TransGrid to conduct a detailed feasibility study for the project. |
| Jul 2020 | In its 2020 Integrated System Plan, AEMO identified the Central-West Orana REZ Transmission Project as a critical project and provided updated costings for the project. The ISP estimates that the transmission project component of the Central-West Orana REZ has a cost of between $450 million and $850 million, with a modelled cost of $650 million. |
| Dec 2020 | The Central-West Orana REZ Transmission Project was declared Critical State Significant Infrastructure by the New South Wales Government. |
| 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. |
| Sep 2021 | TransGrid submitted a Scoping Report and requested the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment Secretary's Environmental Assessment Requirements for the Wollar Substation upgrade project. |
| Oct 2021 | The NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment issued Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs) for the Wollar Substation upgrade portion of the project. |
| Sep 2022 | EnergyCo submitted a Scoping Report to the NSW Government, requesting the Secretary's Environmental Assessment Requirements, (SEARs) for SEARs for the transmission portion of the project was made. |
| Oct 2022 | The NSW Government issued the SEARs for the project. |
| Apr 2023 | EnergyCo selected ACE Energy, comprising ACCIONA, Endeavour Energy and Cobra, as the preferred bidderr for the project. The consortium will design, finance, build, operate, and maintain the REZ network infrastructure through an Availability-based Public Private Partnership-like contract. |
| May 2023 | EnergyCo opened a Registration of Interest (ROI) for Independent Certifier Services for the project, closing 30 May. |
| May 2023 | The NSW Network Infrastructure Strategy for NSW, published by EnergyCo, provided an updated scope and cost for the project. The project, which was previously modeled at a cost of $600 million in the 2020 ISP, now has an estimated cost of $3.2 billion and a delivery date of 2027/28. Additional future options were also released including a new 330 kV circut from Uungula to Burrdendong A, and a new 500 kV circuit from Uungula to Tooraweenah. |
| Sep 2023 | The NSW Government placed the project's Environmental Impact Statement on public exhibition, closing 26 October. |
| Dec 2023 | The New South Wales Government Energy Corporation (EnergyCo) entered into a ‘commitment deed’ with the ACEREZ consortium to deliver and operate the project. The commitment deed enables the consortium to seek approval to design, finance, build, operate, and maintain the REZ network infrastructure over the next 35 years. |
| Jan 2024 | EnergyCo announced it will accelerate the application process to allocate the initial tranche of access rights for generators seeking access to the new Central-West Orana REZ network commencing in Q1 2024. The NSW Government is implementing reforms to enable EnergyCo to establish and administer the expedited process prior to financial close of the REZ transmission project this year. For future allocations of access rights, the NSW Government intends to use a tender process run by AEMO Services. |
| Apr 2024 | ACEREZ Partnership submitted an application for a NSW transmission operator's license for the purpose of operating the transmission system for the REZ network infrastructure project associated with the Central West Orana REZ. |
| May 2024 | A Scoping Report was published and a request for Secretary’s environmental assessment requirements (SEARs) was issued for the Mount Piper to Wallerawang section of the NSW Central-West Orana REZ Transmission Project. |
| May 2024 | The Clean Energy Finance Corporation has announced a $490 million concessional debt finance agreement with EnergyCo for select expenditure related to the delivery of new grid infrastructure in the NSW Central-West Orana REZ. The investment, allocated from the Federal Government’s $19 billion Rewriting the Nation Fund, will enable EnergyCo to separately finance capital expenditure related to land acquisitions within the CWO REZ and purchase biodiversity offsets. |
| Jun 2024 | The NSW Government approved the project for development, subject to conditions. |
| Jul 2024 | The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal released a draft report for public consultation, setting out its draft recommendation that the Minister for Energy should grant a Transmission Operators license to the ACEREZ Partnership. The report also proposes terms and conditions for inclusion in a prospective license. Consultation closed on 2 August. |
| Aug 2024 | The Federal Government granted environmental approval of the project, subject to conditions. |
| Sep 2024 | The New South Wales Government granted ACEREZ a transmission operator license for the Central-West Orana (CWO) Renewable Energy Zone. The transmission operator license will enable ACEREZ to design, construct, own and operate the CWO transmission system. |
| Feb 2025 | EnergyCo commenced an Expressions of Interest (EOI) process seeking service providers across six categories to support the delivery phase of the project, closing on 21 February. Categories include Commercial and Finance, Delivery – Construction, Project Controls, Delivery – Technical, Communications and Stakeholders (including First Nations Support) and Connections, Operations and Commissioning. |
| Mar 2025 | The project was included in the Federal Government's inaugural Renewable Energy Priority List. The Priority List aims to provide coordinated support through Federal, state and territory regulatory and environmental approval processes on a case-by-case basis and provide a 'faster to yes, faster to no' approach to regulatory approvals. |
| Apr 2025 | The NSW Government announced that ACEREZ has been awarded the contract and reached financial close to deliver the Central-West Orana REZ transmission project. Additionally, the Australian Energy Regulator determined that the amount payable to the ACEREZ partnership is a quarterly revenue payment of $1,475.3 million (nominal) over the first 5 years to 2029. |
| May 2025 | The NSW Government signed a deed with Transgrid to deliver the Central West Orana REZ transmission connections packages. Transgrid awarded a $168 million contract to Zinfra for the transmission infrastructure works. The works include the delivery of a 1.5-kilometre, 330-kilovolt (kV) transmission line between Bayswater and Liddell in the Hunter region, including upgrades at two existing substations; a new eight-kilometre, 330-kV transmission line between Mount Piper and Wallerawang in the Central Tablelands, including upgrades at two existing substations; and transmission line cut-in works into the new Barigan Creek 500-kV Switching Station at Wollar in the Central West. Transgrid has also awarded Ventia a three-year delivery services panel contract to support the delivery of upgrades across its transmission network. This includes upgrades to transmission lines and substations, as well as commissioning and testing. |
| Jun 2025 | EnergyCo announced construction commenced on the project, starting with the 500-kilovolt Barigan Creek Switching Station, which will connect multiple transmission lines within the REZ. Work has also commenced on an Energy Hub at Merotherie, temporary worker accommodation on Merotherie Road, and intersection upgrades of the Golden Highway and Merotherie Road. |
Estimated Total Cost
(2023)
Sector
Energy
Procurement approach
Confirmed PPP |
Location
New South Wales |
National |
Resources
Government resources
Central-West Orana Access Scheme Issues PaperScoping Report - September 2021
Issued SEARs
Supplementary SEARs
Mount Piper to Wallerawang Scoping Report - April 2024
ACEREZ Partnership - Application for a transmission operator’s license
National Renewable Energy Priority List
Media releases
2020/06/202020/06/23 (NSW Government)
2020/06/23 (ARENA)
2020/12/17
2023/04/27
2023/12/20 Commitment deed announced
2024/01/22 - EnergyCo Market Information Notice
2024/08/08 - Federal Government approval and funding
2024/05/23 - CEFC financing
2024/09/25 - NSW Government transmission operator license
2025/04/04 - Financial close
2025/04/04 - Revenue determination
2025/05/01 - Transmission infrastructure enabling works and delivery services panel contract award
2025/06/18 - Construction commencement
