Have your say: Draft New England Renewable Energy Zone Access Scheme Declaration

Draft declaration

EnergyCo is seeking feedback on a proposed access scheme for the New England Renewable Energy Zone (REZ). The scheme will encourage investment, coordinate project development and generate funding for the Community and Employment Benefit Program.

The draft New England REZ Access Scheme Declaration (draft declaration) outlines the proposed rules for how generation and storage projects would connect to transmission infrastructure under the scheme.

Read the draft access scheme declaration

Positions paper

We’ve released a positions paper to accompany the draft declaration. The positions paper provides further guidance to stakeholders about the proposed access scheme. It outlines the key design elements, the rationale behind these elements and how we’ve incorporated stakeholder feedback to date.

Read the positions paper

Draft consent assessment process

We’re also seeking feedback on a draft REZ Consent Assessment Process for projects connecting under the access scheme.

Read the consent assessment

Sheep and solar panels - Metz solar farm
20251110_040220061_iOS (1) New England_Uralla CIS
20251110_040220061_iOS (1) New England_Uralla CIS. 

Why we're consulting

The draft declaration is a draft version of an access scheme declaration that may be issued for the New England REZ.

Feedback on the draft declaration will help inform the final design. It will also ensure the declaration strikes the right balance between encouraging investment, coordinating project development and delivering benefits for communities. 

Bodangora Wind Farm and sheep

How to provide feedback

The draft New England REZ Access Scheme Declaration will be available for public consultation for a minimum of 28 days.  

We invite you to submit feedback on the draft declaration 6 July to 6 August 2026.

You can provide feedback via a freeform submission to [email protected] with ‘Your Name – Draft New England REZ Access Scheme Declaration’ in the subject line. 

20240326_New England_EnergyCo_Walcha_Drone_TZ--9
20240326_New England_EnergyCo_Walcha_Drone_TZ--9. 

Register for an upcoming webinar

We’ll be hosting webinars for community and industry stakeholders. These sessions will provide an overview of the proposed access scheme and host a live question and answer session with project team members. 

Industry webinar

  • 14 Juy 2026, 1 pm - 2 pm

Register for the industry webinar

Community webinar

  • 14 July 2026, 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm

Register for the community webinar

Hunter Transmision Project Millfield Community Engagement

What happens after the consultation period?

After the consultation period ends, we’ll review the submissions and consider feedback help inform a potential New England REZ Access Scheme Declaration. 

More information on generator connections and system strength will be available soon. You can sign up to the New England REZ e-newsletter to receive updates.

Register for updates

More information

Fact sheet: New England Renewable Energy Zone Access Scheme
New England Renewable Energy Zone
New England REZ network infrastructure project
Access schemes

Previous consultations

Indicative Technical Requirements for generation and storage connections in New England Renewable Energy Zone (December 2025)

In December 2025 we published a discussion paper outlining our indicative technical requirements for generation and storage projects seeking to connect to the New England Renewable Energy Zone (REZ).

Download the discussion paper

Why released this paper

The New England REZ will bring together new solar, wind and storage projects, supported by new transmission infrastructure. To ensure the REZ operates safely, reliably and efficiently, We're developing a set of REZ access standards – technical requirements that generator and storage projects may need to meet when connecting to REZ network infrastructure.

This paper provided early guidance now so industry proponents can plan ahead. It outlines our indicative position on a range of technical requirements, including areas where they may differ from the standards normally applied under the National Electricity Rules.

What the paper covers

The discussion paper provides:

  • EnergyCo’s early views on a subset of technical requirements for solar, wind and battery projects
  • information on where we are proposing to apply minimum or automatic access standards
  • areas where requirements may differ based on the unique characteristics of the New England REZ
  • details on which requirements still need further power system studies before they can be defined
  • next steps on how access standards for New England REZ will be developed.  

The indicative requirements in the paper were not final and are evolving as REZ planning progresses.

New England Renewable Energy Zone Generation and Storage Consultation Paper (August 2025)

In August 2025, EnergyCo published the New England Renewable Energy Zone Generation and Storage Consultation Paper, outlining proposed design features under consideration for a potential access scheme, a connection assets model and the provision of system strength for the New England REZ.

We considered these submissions to inform the next stages of detailed design, shaping how we approach generation and storage for the New England REZ.

Download the consultation paper

Webinar

We hosted a public webinar on 26 August 2025 to provide stakeholders with an overview of the paper and key design questions, and provide an opportunity to participate in a Q&A.

Watch the recording

Documents

Consultation paper and related documents

Fact sheets

Industry information

Industry
Access schemes
General information

Contact the New England REZ team

Call us

Phone 1800 061 114 (toll free), Monday to Friday, 9am to 5 pm

Email us

Send us an email at: [email protected]

Attend a community session

Join our information sessions to learn more about the project and speak directly with the project team.

Register for updates

Sign up for the New England REZ e-newsletter