Australia, New South Wales: Construction has officially started on the Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone (HCC REZ) transmission project in New South Wales (NSW). This $590 M infrastructure upgrade aims to increase the region’s transfer capacity by at least 1 GW by 2028, supporting the state’s renewable energy transition.

The upgrade will allow an additional 1.8 GW of renewable generation and storage projects to connect to the NSW grid. Ausgrid, in partnership with EnergyCo, will oversee the development, financing, and maintenance of the network infrastructure.

Key upgrades include approximately 85 km of powerlines and improvements to substations, including the Kurri Kurri substation. Additionally, two new 132 kV substations will be built in Muswellbrook at Sandy Creek and Antiene.

This project marks Australia’s first distribution REZ, using existing infrastructure to upgrade the network rather than constructing entirely new transmission lines.

NSW Energy Minister Penny Sharpe highlighted that this upgrade is crucial to securing clean, affordable, and reliable energy for NSW households and businesses as the state transitions away from coal-fired power. The HCC REZ is part of the broader NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap, which aims for 12 GW of renewable energy by 2030.

The HCC REZ is expected to attract up to $3.9 B in private investment, create 590 jobs during construction, and 220 ongoing jobs once operational.

Source: PV Magazine

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