Illawarra REZ attracts $43 billion in potential investment

Monday, 29 August 2022

The Illawarra Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) has attracted $43 billion worth of potential investments in response to a call for expressions of interest for large-scale energy and green manufacturing projects.

Minister for Energy Matt Kean said 44 projects were registered – including offshore and onshore wind, solar, energy storage, pumped hydro, green hydrogen and green steel – potentially delivering 17 gigawatts of generation and storage capacity.

“The response has been tremendous, with particularly strong interest in offshore wind, energy storage technologies and green hydrogen,” Mr Kean said.

“The Illawarra REZ will help deliver cheap and reliable energy, power existing industries, support emerging industries to thrive and create thousands of new jobs in the future.”

Registered industry interest includes:

More than $35 billion in potential investment from 10 wind generation projects, with 8 located offshore, totalling 12.9 gigawatts of generation capacity;
5 solar projects;
16 energy storage projects including 11 batteries;
4 pumped hydro projects;
4 hydrogen production and two hydrogen electricity generation projects; and
3 new load projects including green steel manufacturing.

“This highlights the variety of large-scale energy projects being developed in the region, that will ensure the Illawarra plays a role as the powerhouse of the renewable energy economy,” Mr Kean said.

“The Illawarra has a proud history of manufacturing and the REZ will only build on this legacy, with ROI projects including emerging manufacturing industries such as green steel production.”

The information provided through the ROI will be used by the Energy Corporation of NSW (EnergyCo) to inform the timing, capacity, design and location of the Illawarra REZ and is the first step in engaging with industry on its design.

EnergyCo will be engaging closely with industry, local government, local communities and other stakeholders as it progresses the design and delivery of the REZ.

The Illawarra REZ is expected to be formally declared under the NSW Government’s Electricity Roadmap legislation by the end of 2022.