New England Transmission Project

March 2024 project update

EnergyCo has now finalised a revised study corridor for the transmission project that minimises overall impacts on local landowners and the environment and increases the use of state-owned land.

Read the latest project update outlining the changes and next steps.

About the transmission project

The New England Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) will be serviced by new transmission network infrastructure, including transmission lines and energy hubs, which will transfer power generated by solar and wind farms to electricity consumers. This infrastructure will be critical for the successful operation of the REZ. EnergyCo is leading the development of the REZ transmission network infrastructure as the Infrastructure Planner for the REZs in NSW.

Some of this infrastructure will need to be built outside the New England REZ geographical area to connect the REZ to the main backbone transmission network. EnergyCo is in the early stages of assessing what new network infrastructure should be built to unlock and service the New England REZ.

Revised study corridor

EnergyCo has been consulting with communities and landowners on a study corridor for the New England REZ transmission project since June 2023.

This feedback, along with information gathered from field investigations, has resulted in a range of changes to the preliminary study corridor. These changes can be viewed in the March 2024 project update and on the interactive map.

The revised study corridor for the transmission project minimises overall impacts on local landowners and the environment and increases the use of state-owned land.

Next steps

EnergyCo is committed to long-term ongoing engagement with the community as we develop the New England REZ.

We will continue to carry out community consultation and technical studies to refine the transmission project and identify a preferred study corridor. This preferred study corridor will be included in the Scoping Report to be lodged with the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI) in the coming months.

The Scoping Report will identify a preferred 1-kilometre wide study corridor for the transmission lines, which will form the basis for detailed environmental and technical studies to be carried out as part of the Environmental Impact Statement. We will keep you informed once the Scoping Report and preferred study corridor are available.

As part of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process, there will be further opportunities for community and stakeholder feedback to reduce impacts and maximise benefits for host landowners and the broader community.