New England REZ transmission corridor refined to minimise community and environmental impacts

Around 50 properties have been removed from the proposed corridor for new transmission lines for the New England Renewable Energy Zone, after EnergyCo narrowed the corridor from 3km wide to 1km wide.

The proposed corridor for transmission lines connecting the New England Renewable Energy Zone to the existing electricity grid at Bayswater Power Station has been reduced in width following community and stakeholder consultation, field investigations and detailed technical assessments.

As a result, the total number of New England and Upper Hunter landholders affected by the transmission corridor has dropped from around 200 to 150 along the study area between Muswellbrook and Walcha. EnergyCo has been informing landholders over the past two days.

Further reductions to the number of properties affected are expected as the corridor is refined to a final easement of around 140m wide for dual lines or 70m for single lines.

Route refinements have been made to reduce impacts on private land and avoid environmentally sensitive areas. Examples of changes that have been made based on feedback include:

• moving the route to avoid environmentally sensitive areas at Timor Caves and near Barry
• placing infrastructure away from dwellings where possible to minimise impacts on homes, while balancing terrain and environmental considerations. While subject to further refinement, there are now 20 dwellings within half a kilometre of the 250m corridor (previously 37 in October 2025), a reduction of around 45 per cent.
• reducing visual impacts at properties near Gundy, Waverly and Timor by locating infrastructure further away from dwellings and public viewpoints.
• prioritising areas where landholders have expressed support for hosting REZ infrastructure.

The refined corridor traverses the eastern edge of Lake Glenbawn, but at this stage, it’s not expected to prevent aerial water-scooping operations from being carried out. This will be rigorously tested through the planning process, considering further input from the NSW Rural Fire Service which has been consulted during the refinement process.

EnergyCo is now preparing the environmental impact statement (EIS). Environmental assessments for the EIS are based on a corridor around 250m wide located within the broader 1km corridor.

This proposed EIS corridor is being shared with landholders now, to give a clearer picture of potential transmission line impacts and inform further discussions with EnergyCo.

While this corridor will be the focus of the EIS, the 1km wide corridor will continue to be assessed and refined in response to ongoing technical studies and landowner and community consultation.

The EIS is expected to be lodged with the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure for assessment and public exhibition in the second half of 2026.

Landholders have been advised support is available 24/7.

For more details on the New England Renewable Energy Zone, visit energyco.nsw.gov.au/nerez

Quote attributable to EnergyCo Chief Executive Hannah McCaughey: 

“This project is essential to keeping the lights on as coal-fired power stations retire, but how we deliver it matters just as much as the outcome.

“Community and landholder feedback has led directly to changes, routes have been altered, environmental impacts reduced, and the number of affected landholders significantly lowered.

“This important milestone for the New England Renewable Energy Zone transmission route brings us closer to delivering a once-in-a-generation economic opportunity for regional NSW.”

Quote attributable to New England Renewable Energy Zone Project Director Doug Parris:

“Landowner consultation in the planning and development stage is incredibly valuable as it helps us understand what matters locally, guide where infrastructure is best placed and find ways to reduce impacts on properties, farming operations and the environment.

“We are now turning our focus to the next major milestone – the environmental impact statement – which will go on public exhibition later this year. 

“The EIS is an important step in the planning and environmental assessment process, but more than that, it’s a chance for us to receive feedback from communities through a formal display period.

“We appreciate the valuable feedback received to date and encourage continued input as we finalise our environmental assessments and work to identify the final easements in consultation with landholders.”

Further information:

How has EnergyCo refined 1km-wide corridor?

EnergyCo has considered landholder, community and stakeholder feedback in conjunction with on-the-ground field investigations and technical assessments to refine the study corridor from 3km to 1km wide.

Has the number of impacted landholders decreased?

At the time of the October 2025 corridor announcement, there were around 200 landholders within the 3km-wide corridor between Guyra and Muswellbrook. Following these latest refinements, there are now around 150 landholders within the 1km-wide corridor. The reduction of around 25 per cent is due to refining the study area between Walcha and Muswellbrook.

Why has the refined corridor deviated outside of previous corridor in some instances?

The refined 1km-wide corridor deviates from the previous 3km study area in two key locations:

• Timor: to avoid Timor Caves and reduce impacts to species and habitat in this area, including bats.
• Barry: to reduce impacts to threatened species and habitat and increase distances to several dwellings.

What is the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) corridor?

The EIS corridor is generally 250m wide and forms the basis of EnergyCo’s environmental assessments for the EIS. We are sharing the proposed EIS corridor to give landholders and communities a clearer picture of potential transmission line impacts and inform further discussions with EnergyCo. While this corridor will be the focus of our EIS, the route will continue to be assessed and refined as we continue our studies and engage with landholders and the broader community.  

What work is taking place between now and the release of the EIS?

We are continuing to carry out visual, biodiversity, social, heritage and other studies to build a clear picture of the local environment and community values as we develop the EIS. These assessments are occurring concurrently while we engage with landowners, communities and stakeholders to inform various aspects of the project. We thank them for their time and contribution.