Central-West Orana REZ Transmission Project

Key details

The Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) is the first of its kind, developing the infrastructure that will connect solar and wind farms and energy storage to the NSW electricity grid. We are leading the development of the Central-West Orana REZ Transmission Project as the infrastructure planner for the REZs in NSW.

The project involves the construction of a new high voltage electricity transmission network, energy hubs and switching stations to connect new renewable energy generation to the grid.

Construction started in June 2025, towards energisation in 2028.

Planning the Central-West Orana REZ Transmission Project

The project was declared a critical State significant infrastructure (CSSI) project by the Minister for Planning. Under the NSW Environment Planning and Assessment Act 1979, all CSSI applications are required to go through a comprehensive environmental assessment process.

We at EnergyCo are responsible for developing and overseeing the planning and approval processes for the REZ transmission project.

The planning approval process followed detailed technical planning and extensive community consultation. The environmental impact statement (EIS) was exhibited from late September until early November 2023 and included measures to avoid, minimise or mitigate potential environmental and community impacts.

Community feedback informed key changes to the project, which are described and assessed in an Amendment Report.

View the planning documents here

Building the Central-West Orana REZ Transmission Project

We've appointed ACEREZ – a consortium of ACCIONA, COBRA, and Endeavour Energy – to design, build and finance the Central-West Orana REZ Transmission Project and operate and maintain it for the next 35 years.

ACEREZ was appointed as the network operator after contract and financial close was reached in April 2025, following a robust procurement process overseen by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER).

This project is the first competitively sourced REZ transmission project in Australia. We implemented a tailored procurement model that incentivises early delivery and cost efficiency for the network operator. This safeguards the long-term interests of energy consumers.

Construction started in June 2025 and is anticipated to reach completion in 2028, at which point energisation will begin.

Construction timeline

For the latest information about construction, visit the ACEREZ website.

ACEREZ website

Why we need it

The existing NSW transmission network has been designed to distribute energy from the state’s existing generators, primarily coal-fired power stations. The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has a map available which shows the location of high voltage transmission lines in relation to current generators in NSW.

The existing transmission networks do not serve the adequate capacity to serve the best locations for new renewable energy generators. For this reason, extensive investment will be needed in new transmission network infrastructure to transfer energy from the REZs to energy consumers across the state. For further background information on the need for new transmission infrastructuree found, please see NSW's Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap and the NSW Network Infrastructure Strategy.

NSW has abundant solar and wind resources. We have enough renewable energy potential to meet our energy needs many times over. In fact, in 2023, more than a third of NSW's electricity came from renewable sources.

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Generation and storage projects connecting in the Central-West Orana REZ

We've granted access rights to 10 renewable energy and storage projects to connect to the Central-West Orana REZ.

We are working closely with the developers of these projects to plan their connections into the network. We are also working with them and other key stakeholders to develop strategies to manage cumulative impacts within the REZ and deliver community benefit initiatives.

For more information on generation projects connecting to the Central-West Orana REZ, visit generation and storage projects, or the Central-West Orana REZ Access Scheme page.