The state has opened the first tender for renewable energy and long-duration storage contracts to replace retiring coal-fired power stations with modern electricity infrastructure

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NSW opens Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap. (Credit: American Public Power Association on Unsplash)

The government of New South Wales (NSW) in Australia has officially launched the renewable energy and storage policy, Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap, to transform the state’s electricity system.

The state has opened the first tender for renewable energy and long-duration storage contracts to replace retiring coal-fired power stations with modern electricity infrastructure.

Under the Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap, the government targets building 12GW of renewable energy by 2030, which is adequate to power equivalent to 5.8 million homes.

The policy is estimated to save around $130 per annum on the electricity bill of an average household, and $430 per annum on a small business, between 2023 and 2040.

As part of the Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap, the NSW government plans to build five large-scale Renewable Energy Zones across the state.

The Renewable Energy Zones will produce affordable clean electricity in future and create major investment opportunities for industry and small businesses.

NSW Minister for Energy Matt Kean said: “The first tender for renewable energy and long-duration storage contracts opens today, the first in a series of bi-annual tenders over 10 years to replace retiring coal-fired power stations with modern electricity infrastructure.

“NSW is targeting the construction of 12GW of renewable energy by 2030, enough to power the equivalent of 5.8 million homes, as well as 2GW of long-duration storage like pumped hydro, making this the biggest renewable energy policy in Australia’s history.

“The opening of the first tender marks a major milestone in the delivery of our renewable energy and storage plans, it’s expected to create a jobs and investment boom across NSW.”

Backed by the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Act 2020, which was passed into law in December 2020, the policy aims to provide cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable energy for NSW.

The policy is designed to replace the generation capacity from four out of five coal-fired power stations in NSW, which are scheduled to retire in the coming 11 years.

It will coordinate investment in transmission, generation, storage, and firming infrastructure to help the ageing coal-fired generation plants to retire.

Kean added: “The Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap is the state’s energy policy designed to replace the generation capacity from four out of five of NSW’s coal-fired power stations, which are scheduled to retire in the next 11 years.

“Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine has put enormous pressure on power prices and shows why we need to fast track our plans to replace ageing power stations and reduce our reliance on the generation that relies on volatile international commodity prices.”