The NSW government has signed a deed of commitment with its preferred operator of the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone.
A Consortium comprised of ACCIONA, COBRA and Endeavour Energy (ACEREZ) will now seek approval to deliver, operate and maintain the REZ network for the next 35 years, including high-capacity transmission lines, energy hubs and infrastructure to connect renewables to the electricity grid.
The consortium will also bear delay and cost overrun risks associated with the project, with the government saying this represents the first time it’s competitively procured a new transmission network without the risk being passed on to electricity consumers.
A final contract is expected to be awarded in the middle of the year pending the completion of regulatory and planning approvals.
Construction is expected to start in early 2025, and the REZ is expected to begin operating in in 2027-28.
Network capacity to increase
In what the state government says is another major milestone for the 20,000 square km REZ centred around Dubbo,the REZ’s declaration has been amended to increase the intended network capacity to 6 GW by 2038, with initial capacity expected to be 4.5 GW.
Energy minister Penny Sharpe said the regions are central to delivering the transition to renewables and the government’s REZ delivery authority EnergyCo will consult will local communities throughout the process.
“These milestones are an important step forward in the development of the Central-West Orana REZ, taking it from vision to reality,” she said in a statement.
“It brings us closer to delivering clean, affordable and reliable energy to households and businesses across NSW for decades to come, helping to meet newly legislated Net Zero targets in NSW.
“EnergyCo will continue working closely with the community in the planning and delivery of the Central-West Orana REZ.”
The Central-West Oranz REZ, one of five planned for NSW, will support up to $10 billion in private investment in wind, solar and storage projects, ACCIONA says.
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Wow, another big target for our enemy’s missiles to hit. How clever is that? (Not!) We need to seriously think about what we’re doing by creating these mega renewable energy zone (REZ) targets that can be very easily hit by long range missiles.
Let’s face it, our power grids will be one of the very first targets taken out by the enemy. So, is it the most practical and sensible way to go?
And all those high voltage transmission lines cris-crossing farmers’ properties needed to connect them to the national grid. Surely this too is a recipe for disaster.
There are proponents out there that argue that emissions from these overhead transmission lines affect the health of both animals and humans living beneath them. According to some experts, these high voltage transmission lines emit electromagnetic (EM) radiation which interacts with the natural EM fields that exist within our own bodies. They interfere with cell function, break down DNA strands and over time, attack the immune system, leaving us more and more vulnerable to diseases.
So, are we going to be the instruments of our own destruction by heading down the mega REZ path? Or should we approach the problem of reliable energy sources in a completely different way? Personally, I feel that each town should have its own isolated energy supply – be it in the form of a smaller scale solar farm, wind farm, hydrogen or even wave power source, if the towns are located near the ocean. After all, small targets are not as easy to hit with long range missiles and if one smaller, isolated renewable energy zone does get hit, it doesn’t affect the others around it. Similarly, the government should be doing a lot more to ensure each home and business has solar panels and a back-up battery installed. It’s not that I am a “Doomsdayer”, but with the way the world is heading, it makes sense to plan accordingly just in case China, Russia or North Korea does push that red button.