Frequently asked questions

The New England REZ was formally declared by the Minister for Energy under section 19(1) of the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Act 2020 (the Act) and published in the NSW Gazette on 17 December 2021. View the Renewable Energy Zone (New England) Declaration Order here.

The declaration was the first step in formalising the REZ under the Act and establishes EnergyCo as the Infrastructure Planner responsible for coordinating its development. It also set out the intended network capacity (size), geographical area (location) and infrastructure that will make up the REZ, and enables and sets the scope of key legislative functions under the Act, including access schemes and REZ network solutions (referred to in the Act as 'REZ network infrastructure projects'). As Infrastructure Planner, EnergyCo will make decisions such as assessing and recommending REZ network infrastructure projects.

The declaration followed an assessment of feedback received during the draft declaration exhibition period from 15 October to 12 November 2021. Minor adjustments to the geographical area were made which took both community and proponent feedback into account. These amendments improved the delineation between areas captured within the REZ subject to potential future development, and adjacent areas of National Park and World Heritage significance.

A stylised map of the specified geographical area of the REZ is included for reference and accessibility purposes only here. This stylised map does not form part of the declaration. The stylised map includes the existing 132 kV and 330 kV transmission infrastructure near and in the REZ as a geographical reference. You can download the GIS file of the New England REZ geographical area boundary here.

Note: The Minister in future may amend the declaration to expand the specified geographical area of the REZ, increase the intended network capacity, specify additional generation, storage and network infrastructure, provide further details and specifications, or correct a minor error.

A range of factors were considered in planning and identification of the five REZs, including:

• potential land uses impacts, including on agricultural land,
• environmental and social values, such as unique and sensitive biodiversity and cultural values,
• population and housing density,
• the location and availability of high-quality wind and solar resources, and
• distance to existing high voltage transmission lines.

The New England REZ has an intended network capacity of up to 8 gigawatts, aligning with the Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO's) 2020 Integrated System Plan (ISP).

We received 80 registrations of interest for the New England REZ, representing 34 gigawatts of new energy generation and storage projects, during 2021. This interest significantly exceeds the amount of energy required to deliver the REZ. It will therefore help to ensure a competitive tender process and drive improved outcomes for the community.

For more information, visit Renewable energy generation projects.

EnergyCo is the Infrastructure Planner for the New England REZ and is responsible for the planning and development of transmission infrastructure required for the REZ. This includes all aspects of the environmental planning and approvals process, as well as the acquisition of any private land and easements needed for the project.

The delivery and operation of the network will be managed by the appointed Network Operator. EnergyCo will lead a competitive process to appoint the Network Operator which will design, build, finance, operate and maintain the new transmission infrastructure in the REZ. The successful Network Operator will then work with EnergyCo on the rollout of the project.

Given the substantial complexities involved in transmission infrastructure planning, there are specific national, state, and regional planning processes enacted that guide, revise and modify projects towards a final design.

Typically, such projects move from a ‘preliminary’ study corridor to a ‘revised’ corridor, and then to a ‘reference design’ corridor which forms the basis of an environmental impact statement (EIS) that is lodged with the relevant approving authority.

EnergyCo will be the proponent of the EIS for the REZ network infrastructure.

The EIS is expected to be displayed for public exhibition in the second half of 2026. All submissions received as part of the exhibition will be reviewed, and a response will be made publicly available in a Submissions Report.

While the planning approval processes and construction of the generation projects will be the responsibility of the developers, EnergyCo will have a critical role in coordination to ensure the impacts and opportunities for the community are considered as a whole.

The planning of the REZ Network Infrastructure is currently in the preliminary assessment phase, incorporating the conduct of studies and option analysis considerations. At a high level, the scope of the New England REZ infrastructure includes:

• new transmission lines connecting Bayswater Power Station near Muswellbrook to the REZ,
• new energy hubs,
• new transmission lines within the REZ, and
• connection to new generation projects.

Energy hubs are a modern type of substation that act as a connection point between renewable energy projects and the broader transmission network. Energy hubs collect electricity from solar, wind and storage projects and transfer it to the network so it can be distributed to the homes, businesses and essential services that need it. More information is available in our energy hub fact sheet.

High voltage transmission lines will transfer renewable energy from the New England REZ to electricity consumers, with the ‘backbone’ of the new network expected to be rated up to 500 kilovolts (kV).

The towers will be up to 70 metres high and are generally spaced 400 to 600 metres apart. The transmission lines have a minimum clearance of 7.5 metres off the ground to allow farming and other activities to take place safely underneath.

These transmission lines will be located within easements 70 to 80 metres wide and may be co-located within a single easement or be physically separated. Easements will be wider where transmission lines are co-located.

EnergyCo is committed to delivering a safe, reliable and efficient transmission network for the REZ. We understand there is concern in the community about potential health impacts from electric and magnetic fields (EMFs) when living and working near transmission lines.

EMFs are found everywhere, including in the natural environment, and are produced wherever electricity or electrical equipment is used. According to health authorities, including the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (APRANSA), EMFs from electrical transmission lines are not considered a risk to human health.

A detailed assessment of EMFs from the REZ transmission project will be carried out as part of the project’s environmental impact statement (EIS).

This assessment will ensure EMFs from transmission infrastructure, including energy hubs and transmission lines, are within the required guidelines. For more information, you can view our EMF fact sheet.

Major infrastructure projects follow a comprehensive and structured development process with the level of detail and assessment increasing at each stage. The early stages are broad and strategic which help us decide where the project could go. Later stages become more detailed to refine the project’s location and decide exactly how it will be built.

We are following a typical route selection process for a project of this size including option assessment through to final design – each stage increasing investigations and validation.

We constantly refine the corridor along the way to balance technical, environmental, social, and economic factors and importantly, make sure we meet energisation targets.

We welcome feedback from landowners and local communities on the preferred study corridor. We will continue to engage with potential hosts in or near the study corridor so their feedback can be considered in our planning process.

There will continue to be formal opportunities for the community to have their say via one-on-one meetings, online engagement, community drop-in sessions, community briefings, emails and phone calls. This feedback will be considered in the design and development of the project.

We understand that agricultural activities are essential to our State as well as the livelihood of communities in the New England region and will aim to minimise impacts to these activities wherever possible.

The final transmission alignment, including a 250m-wide corridor, will be presented in the environmental impact statement which is planned to be displayed for public exhibition in the second half of 2026.

The decision to move part of the corridor was made following detailed work to develop the design for environmental planning approvals. Landowner and community engagement has played an important role in this process as we’ve sought to better understand local conditions.

Bushfire management is a key example. Over the past several months we’ve been carrying out assessments and seeking expert advice to understand how bushfires are managed in the region, including the importance of Chaffey Dam and Lake Glenbawn as water sources for aerial firefighting.

Moving the study area means we avoid aerial exclusion zones around Chaffey Dam and Lake Glenbawn. We developed these zones in consultation with NSW Rural Fire Service and local aviation stakeholders to ensure the lines would not disrupt aerial firefighting activities. 

The new study area covers a broad area around 3km wide and is intentionally wide so we can receive community and landowner feedback to refine the corridor.

The new study area means 98 private landowners in the existing 1km-wide corridor will no longer be impacted. The new study area initially includes around 105 new private landowners; however, this number will reduce as we refine from a 3km-wide study area to a 1km-wide corridor. It’s too early to say how many landowners will be within the 1km-wide corridor, however we expect the overall number of impacted landowners will reduce further.

There are unavoidable impacts by updating the corridor, including a revised development program for the project. This is necessary to make sure we can complete a robust assessment of the project for environmental planning approvals and allow more time for community engagement. 

Timing changes are part of delivering complex projects. While the development timeline may take longer, the updated corridor will make the project easier and faster to build. 

We are now expecting to lodge the EIS in the second half of 2026 with indicative planning approvals in 2027.

We previously advised that the New England REZ would deliver 6 gigawatts (GW) of network transfer capacity by 2034 through the first two stages. This will allow up to 12GW of new renewable energy generation to connect to the grid by the mid-2030s.

It is still too early to know the exact delivery date for the REZ, however we are working to understand this as we engage with industry in the network operator procurement process. 

We will keep the community informed about further updates to the planned energisation dates as more information becomes available.

EnergyCo’s previous 1km-wide study corridor partially followed the existing 330kV transmission line corridor between Muswellbrook and Tamworth. 

While co-location with existing transmission lines can help consolidate impacts to a local area, further detailed technical assessments found that co-location in these areas is problematic due to steep terrain, increasing constructability risks, environmental impacts and safety risks.

The existing 330kV transmission line was first built in the 1960s and uses the best available locations in the area. That means our two proposed 500kV lines would be located in more challenging areas, typically on land that is steeper and harder to build on, requiring more earthworks.

Some locations next to the existing lines presented extremely challenging terrain where access had significant high grades for long lengths. In these locations, non-conventional construction techniques such as heavy-lift helicopters would be needed to build the lines due to the access constraints. However, helicopter usage is further constrained due to safety risks of construction next to a live high voltage line.

While this may be technically feasible, the new study area we’ve identified would provide better overall outcomes with reduced impacts for construction, local roads and the environment.

The existing 330kV transmission lines that currently transfer power between Bayswater, Tamworth and Armidale, and between Armidale, Kempsey and Newcastle, are operated by Transgrid. They are not suitable for the large amounts of energy to be transmitted for the New England REZ and are running near full capacity. 

We considered if the existing lines could be upgraded to meet the capacity requirements for the REZ, however this option was excluded early in the evaluation process due to a number of constraints:

• high construction impacts as the existing lines would need to be taken down, easements widened, and new infrastructure built
• lengthy power outages during construction which would have a major impact on energy users and the operation of the National Electricity Market (NEM)
• increased impact to regional centres along the existing route which have experienced major growth since the lines were first built.

For these reasons, upgrading the existing lines was not a preferred option for the REZ and is not being considered further.

In August 2024, EnergyCo reviewed the Aberbaldie-Niangala travelling stock reserve (TSR) as an alternative corridor option for the New England REZ transmission lines following requests from the local community. The key driver of this request was to maximise the use of public land by using the TSR itself. 

The TSR was assessed through EnergyCo’s typical route selection and change management process including a multi-criteria analysis based on our planning pillars and principles. EnergyCo’s assessment found an alignment following the TSR provided less favourable outcomes against multiple criteria, most notably impacts to private landowners. The TSR was not progressed on this basis. 

This assessment found that placing the alignment exclusively within the TSR would have significant impacts including proximity to homes, high conservation value biodiversity within the TSR and the surrounding area, impacts to Biophysical Strategic Agricultural Land (BSAL) and the requirement for increased vegetation clearance.

While the new study area is located in the vicinity of the TSR, it is not positioned entirely within it. This approach helps to avoid the constraints and impacts that are outlined in the TSR assessment report. 

The TSR assessment report identified that the area surrounding the TSR offers more favourable terrain, improved accessibility, and better bushfire management. The new study area takes advantages of these favourable conditions in the nearby area. 

Click here to view the TSR assessment report and FAQs.

The New England REZ has an expected network capacity of 8GW. This is a significant amount of energy to be transported from the REZ south to Bayswater, requiring twin 500kV double circuit transmission lines along the bulk corridor in an overhead configuration. Some of the challenges of underground cables at this capacity include:

• Construction: Underground cables suitable for the high voltages required for long distance transmission would be much larger than the conductor or wire used in overhead lines, and much more complex to install. They are larger and heavier than equivalent capacity overhead lines and are typically installed in large, deep trenches which have a very high construction impact.
• Cooling and thermal management challenges: Underground transmission lines accumulate heat in the surrounding soil due to poor natural dissipation. The underground cables could not operate at full planned capacity without costly active cooling systems such as forced ventilation or fluid cooling. The scale and cost of implementing such cooling systems over long lengths of corridor would be immense and would introduce ongoing operational risks.
• Time and cost: Construction would be long and costly due to the extent of trenching and specialist procedures required to lay heavy cable without causing cable damage. This means that meeting energisation targets using underground cable technology would be extremely challenging, even if cost were not an issue.
• Repairs and maintenance: Underground cables need ongoing maintenance to function effectively. When cable failures occur, average repair times are significantly longer than those for overhead lines. Specialised skills, plant and equipment would be required, and large areas of excavation may be required to identify the fault, resulting in longer repair times and interruptions to energy supply.
• Environment and land use impacts: Underground transmission lines are unsuitable in complex or sensitive areas such as rivers, cliffs and Aboriginal heritage sites, while overhead transmission can more readily avoid or minimise impacts to these areas.

The limitations of undergrounding have been addressed in a Standing Committee on State Development Inquiry on the feasibility of undergrounding the transmission infrastructure for renewable energy projects (Parliament NSW, 2023), as well as the Select Committee on State Development Inquiry on the same topic. You can read more by searching ‘undergrounding’ at parliament.nsw.gov.au.

High voltage alternating current (HVAC) and high voltage direct current (HVDC) are different systems used for transmitting electricity. Globally, overhead lines are standard practice for 400-500kV HVAC transmission lines like those proposed for the New England REZ.

Typically, HVDC is suitable only for transferring bulk electricity point-to-point over very long distances. It is not suitable for networks that require new generation to be readily connected, like the New England REZ.

HVDC would require large and costly converter stations to convert power for connection into the existing NSW grid as it uses HVAC technology.

Using underground HVDC transmission for the New England REZ would pose significant challenges due to the long distances and would require more infrastructure to be built, which would greatly increase construction impacts, duration and costs.

This would include using large trenches, about 20m wide, over the full length of corridor which would need to be wider and deeper in areas with undulating terrain due to the need for cabling to have a minimum depth and limited bending. This means it is not a feasible solution for the project.

During the planning phase, we will work with landowners to understand farming and business operations and other possible property impacts or concerns. These in turn will inform the design scope of the infrastructure.

Examples could include avoiding structures and high value agricultural land, minimising fragmentation of blocks, limiting construction access, and respecting landscape.

During construction, EnergyCo will require workers to liaise closely with landowners in accordance with pre-agreed terms for access to properties. Workers will be expected to strictly adhere to rules protecting livestock, securing gates and biosecurity.

Easement acquisition is a common practice in Australia to allow for the construction and operation of transmission lines as well as various other utilities.

When acquiring an easement, EnergyCo will seek to enter into an agreement with the landowner which will set out all the rights and obligations for both parties in relation to the ongoing use and management of the land, including payment of compensation to the landowner for granting the easement, and any other required interests.

Property acquisition in NSW is governed by the Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991 (the Act). The Act provides the procedures a government agency must follow to acquire land from a landowner, as well as the principles for determining compensation.

You can read our property and easement acquisition fact sheet for further details on how EnergyCo will acquire easement rights for the REZ transmission project.

EnergyCo understands that agricultural activities are essential to our nation as well as the livelihood of communities in the New England region. We will therefore work closely with landowners as we design the REZ to understand current and future land uses and help minimise interference with agricultural activities.

While there are some restrictions within easements, farmers can still carry out regular activities like growing crops and grazing livestock. Once commissioned, transmission lines do not generally have a significant effect on farming operations. 

Further details are available in our fact sheet about living and working near transmission easements.

Under the Strategic Benefits Payment Scheme (SBP), private landowners hosting new high voltage transmission projects critical to the energy transformation and future of the electricity grid will be paid a set rate of $200,000 per kilometre of transmission hosted (in real 2022 dollars), paid out in annual instalments over 20 years.

Payments made under the SBP scheme will be in addition to any compensation paid under the Act to applicable private landowners for transmission easements on their land once the project is energised (ie operational).

The EnergyCo New England REZ Project team welcomes your feedback at any time. You can:

• Call us on 1800 061 114
• Email us at [email protected]
• Come along to any of the opportunities being held in REZ communities which will be widely advertised in advance.

Also known as transfer capacity, or the maximum amount of energy can be exported from the REZ into the external network at any given time. 

Read more in our ‘how a renewable energy zone works’ and ‘coordinating generation and storage in the REZ’ fact sheets.

This refers to how much solar, wind or battery can connect to the REZ network. It is typically higher than network capacity. 

An assessment to check whether there is more generation capacity for generators to connect to a REZ without overloading it. 

Generation and storage projects that wish to connect to the New England REZ network infrastructure will need to secure an access right. Access right holders will be charged a yearly access fee that includes components to fund community benefit and employment programs. Access fees are set by the Consumer Trustee. Generators would start paying access fees once their projects start the commissioning process.

EnergyCo intends to publish an Access Scheme consultation paper in Q2 2025.  This paper will outline the possible range or limit for generation capacity that could connect to the Access Rights Network. This paper will be published on EnergyCo’s website seeking responses from the public. A webinar will also be run during the consultation period.

Following the consultation process, EnergyCo will make a recommendation to the Minister to declare an Access Scheme which will include information on the processes for determining the maximum generation capacity that can connect to the Access Rights Network.  

Before making a final declaration, the Minister will publish a draft declaration (available on the EnergyCo’s website and the NSW Gazette) for at least 28 days to seek and consider submissions from the public (including representatives of NSW electricity consumers, local regional communities, and First Nations people) on the draft declaration. This is likely to occur in the first half of 2026.

There are public guidelines providing information on how the Minister will exercise the function of declaring access schemes under the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Act 2020, available here.

Finally, for more information, visit our generation and storage page.

The REZ will deliver up to 6 GW of network capacity in the next decade by the mid-2030s with the opportunity for an additional 2 GW of capacity in the future.

EnergyCo is delivering the New England Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) network infrastructure project to provide a clean, affordable and reliable power supply for energy consumers across NSW.  

Delivery of the New England REZ involves: 

• Building renewable energy projects, such as solar farms, wind farms and battery energy storage systems
• Building transmission lines and energy hubs to connect these projects to electricity consumers. 

Both require significant volumes of oversize and over-mass (OSOM) equipment to be delivered to the Port of Newcastle and transported by road along designated routes to the New England REZ. 

The Port to REZ Program is essential for our transition to renewable energy. The Program will address the transport challenges of delivering OSOM renewable energy components, such as wind turbines, transformers, and other large pieces of electrical equipment, between the Port of Newcastle and key points within the New England REZ. Delivery of these components is essential to build renewable generation projects as well as the transmission infrastructure needed to connect them to the electricity network. 

EnergyCo is working with Transport for NSW to determine the most suitable, low-impact OSOM route to deliver energy components from the Port of Newcastle to the New England REZ. 

Upgrades to road intersections and pinch-points may be required to allow large components to be moved safely across the route to renewable energy projects.  

Coordinating road upgrades to renewable energy zones will: 

• Enable delivery of large components essential to construct and operate renewable energy projects in the REZ
• Be carried out in a well-planned and holistic manner to optimise efficiency and coordination 
• Improve pinch points and intersections along the Port to REZ route 

Coordinating OSOM deliveries will: 

• Reduce the impact on road users and communities
• Improve safety 

Building renewable energy projects and new transmission infrastructure require the movement of large components, which we refer to as oversize and over-mass. These tend to be: 

• Very long – such as wind turbine blades, which we need to ensure can get through intersections, around corners, and past utility poles and buildings
• Very tall – such as the base sections of wind turbine towers, which we need to ensure can get under bridges and overhead powerlines
• Very heavy – such as transformers, which we need to ensure can safely traverse bridges and culverts. 

Transportation of large renewable energy components will increase progressively along the route as construction begins in a REZ. 

Construction of major solar, wind and storage projects with planned connections to the New England REZ network infrastructure project will start once projects are approved.  

There are also several renewable energy projects that are planned to be delivered ahead of the New England REZ, meaning OSOM movements for those projects would start earlier. At this stage, we expect those to start in late 2026. 

We are working closely with renewable energy project developers to coordinate the volume and frequency of OSOM vehicle movements during construction. We will keep the community updated as planning progresses and further details are finalised. 

Coordinating the timing and frequency of OSOM deliveries is critical to minimising disruption for road users and communities. 

We are supporting Transport for NSW on an operational strategy which explains how this work will be coordinated and traffic impacts managed. This will consider local and regional road use. The strategy is being developed by Transport for NSW and will be shared with the community once the route is confirmed. 

Some strategies to minimise impacts on road users include building pullover bays, coordinating with schools and transport companies to understand local bus routes and delivering OSOM components at night where possible. 

Safety is an important consideration as we design the route. We are working closely with Transport for NSW and local councils to understand local road use and constraints in pinch point areas to minimise impacts on the road network. 

Some of the ways OSOM vehicle movement safety is managed includes: 

• Scheduling OSOM vehicle movements to take place outside of peak traffic periods
• Use of escort vehicles (driven by accredited escort drivers) or NSW Police to ensure deliveries are carried out safely, depending on size and mass of the load
• Speed restrictions for OSOM vehicles
• Pulling over to allow other vehicles to pass safely at intervals
• Installing signage. 

OSOM vehicle permits are managed by Transport for NSW and the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR). Transport for NSW and NHVR will notify communities and road users about OSOM vehicle movements along the Port to New England REZ route, including expected delivery volumes and times. 

There are a number of towns along the road network between Muswellbrook and the New England REZ. EnergyCo and Transport for NSW are carrying out investigations to determine the most suitable, low-impact freight route to accommodate OSOM vehicles. 

EnergyCo has been working closely with local councils to understand local road use and constraints in key areas around town centres to inform OSOM route design options. The route design will consider options that minimise traffic impacts to Muswellbrook, Tamworth, Uralla, Walcha and Armidale. 

Yes. Since early 2024, EnergyCo and Transport for NSW have been investigating the most suitable, low-impact OSOM route to unlock access from Muswellbrook to the New England REZ. 

The route will include sections of the New England Highway and Oxley Highway, as well as some local roads. 

Individual renewable energy project developers will plan and manage OSOM vehicle movements for their respective projects, including upgrading local roads and connections between the OSOM route and their project sites. The community will be invited to provide feedback as part of this process. 

Site investigations as part of the OSOM route planning will continue throughout 2025 and 2026. Subject to detailed design, planning and approvals, road upgrades are expected to start in 2026. 

Local communities and stakeholders will be notified ahead of work starting, including notification of expected work hours and temporary traffic changes, where applicable. We will make every effort to minimise impacts and disruption to landowners, local communities and motorists during this work. 

Energy hubs collect electricity from solar, wind and storage projects and transfers it to the network so it can be distributed to the homes, businesses and essential services that need it.

You can read more about energy hubs in our fact sheet here.

When we’re selecting a hub location, we need to make sure the land is the appropriate size and suitable topography for the proposed infrastructure. This includes avoiding flood prone land, minimising environmental impacts and avoiding infrastructure like farming structures and wind turbines. We also consider the broader power line alignment and where the lines will enter and exit the hub, to minimise impacts to nearby properties and proposed generation projects.

We are following a detailed planning process to develop the study corridor for the REZ project and the location of energy hubs. This includes considering a number of key principles, including minimising impacts to people and the environment, cost, technical design and making sure we’re meeting NSW energy targets. In addition to this, we’re carrying out ongoing engagement with landowners, stakeholders and the community to hear local feedback and refine the design.

Our key planning pillars include people, environment, economic, strategic and technical. You can read more about our planning pillars in our route selection fact sheet here.

We are relocating the north hub as a result of extensive engagement with local landowners and the community to reduce impacts to private property.

The original location for the north hub was chosen because it co-located power lines on private property already hosting network infrastructure. The hub will now be located on land singularly owned by Origin Energy, providing fewer access constraints and reduces areas of environmental and heritage significance.

The new hub location has additional benefits for the design the project as a whole including locating more power lines and generator connections on land owned by renewable project developers.

The north hub was originally proposed to be located on privately-owned land in the Dumaresq area, near Boorolong Road. The new hub location is about 5km west within the Origin-owned Warrane property. Warrane is about 18km north west of Armidale.