The Australian federal government and the state of New South Wales (NSW) will spend a combined AUD7.8bn (US$5.2bn) to improve and accelerate the deployment of the transmission capacity needed for several renewable projects in Australia. The agreed package will support the development of eight transmission and renewable energy zones (REZ) projects in NSW, including the HumeLink project, which will connect to the grid Australia’s largest hydropower scheme, the 2 GW Snowy 2.0 hydro pumped storage project (due for commissioning by 2026).
Another project included in the agreement, VNI West, will see the construction of about 400km of double-circuit 500 kV lines to link north-western Victoria state and south-eastern NSW. Also on the list of critical transmission and REZ projects are the Sydney Ring Southern transmission projects, the Central-West Orana REZ, the New England REZ, the Hunter-Central Coast REZ, and South-West REZ.
The Australian federal government will contribute AUD4.7bn (US$3.1bn), while NSW has allocated AUD3.1bn (US$2.1bn) to fast-track the development of the renewable energy projects through 2030.
Australia’s renewable capacities have increased rapidly, notably solar (multiplied by 8 in 10 years to reach 19 GW in 2021) and wind (multiplied by 4 to reach 9 GW). Renewables (including hydropower and biomass) represented 45% of the country’s total installed capacity but only 27% of its power generation in 2021. Australian plans to reduce its carbon emissions by 43% by 2030 (from 2005 levels) and reach net zero emissions by 2050.
