The fifth Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) has been established by the New South Wales Liberal and Nationals Government in the Illawarra to ensure that the area is a key player in the State’s future clean energy plans.
According to a media release by the Minister for Energy, the Illawarra is now the last of the five REZs identified by the NSW Energy Infrastructure Roadmap to be officially recognised.
The announcement, according to Treasurer and Minister for Energy Matt Kean, is a part of the NSW Liberal and Nationals Government’s long-term goal to modernise the electrical grid with renewable energy and storage, which will help to lower costs and maintain the system’s dependability.
“The Illawarra has a proud history of manufacturing and the REZ will only build on this legacy, powering existing and emerging industries such as offshore wind, green hydrogen and green steel production,” Kean said.
The minister added that the Illawara is a suitable place to host a REZ due to its existing energy, port, and transportation infrastructure, highly skilled workforce, and significant demand from current companies to decarbonise.
“This is a huge win for the Illawarra with projects registering their interest showing a potential to create more than 8,300 jobs, not including the huge employment potential of offshore wind,” Kean noted.
The Illawarra region has strong commercial interest, with the potential to unlock more than 17 gigatonnes of capacity and more than $43 billion in private investment in wind, battery storage, pumped hydro, hydrogen, and new load projects, including green steel manufacturing, according to the release.
“These projects have the potential to deliver thousands of jobs in the Illawarra as the region moves to a clean energy future,” Kean said.
This move is also another illustration of the NSW Liberal and Nationals Government working to change our State’s energy infrastructure, all the while the Labor Party is working on its covert plan to nationalise the grid, which will discourage investment and raise electricity rates, said the minister.
EnergyCo will start the next stage of development this year, which will include keeping a close relationship with the neighbourhood’s industries, councils, and other stakeholders.
