How will renewable project proponents be affected by NSW EnergyCo’s newly released strategy?
Author: Lawrence Smith, Executive Director – Commercial
February 3, 2025
News & Insights
If you are in the business of renewable projects, you may be interested to know that NSW EnergyCo released its first Corporate Strategy in late 2024.
It was an update that some might have missed amid the end-of-year rush, but one with potentially major consequences for renewable project proponents.
So, why is it significant?
Who is NSW EnergyCo?
NSW EnergyCo was established in 2021 to progress the state’s energy transition. It does this through the development of renewable energy zones (REZ), linear network infrastructure, and transmission projects.
It also oversees investment in REZs and ensures any new projects on its turf are aligned with the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Investment Act 2020 (EII Act).
EnergyCo’s vision is an “affordable, reliable and sustainable energy future for NSW”. With legislated responsibility to deliver good outcomes for projects, people and the community, its strategy is diverse.
In a nutshell, there are three promising takeaways for renewable developers.
#1 – Efficient planning and approvals
NSW EnergyCo is focussed on ensuring projects are delivered on time and within budget, and says “delivery is de-risked by earlier approvals and land acquisition”.
To help accelerate projects it will undertake holistic, upfront planning, with in-house teams engaged with stakeholders and network service providers in order to balance competing priorities.
It will also allow early works and approvals to happen at the same time to avoid delays.
#2 – Improving stakeholder engagement
With an equal focus on people and communities, NSW EnergyCo’s strategy will help it better understand and address stakeholder challenges—a move that could translate to improved social licence for renewable projects over time.
The organisation will deepen its engagement with local communities, ensuring “respect and empathy” is prioritised in how it engages and negotiates with landowners. There is also a strong focus on “sharing benefits” with host communities and local Aboriginal people.
NSW EnergyCo’s regional investment will stimulate thousands of local jobs. Meanwhile, its updated network plan and focus on competitive procurement will support the long-term financial interests of consumers.
#3 – Smoother project delivery
NSW EnergyCo is committed to helping projects run more smoothly through its dedicated strategy, technical, and policy teams.
Working closely with industry, it plans to develop flexible and integrated approaches to reduce project delivery risks.
It will also take a more proactive approach to capture learnings and feedback from REZ projects that can be applied to future projects to drive better outcomes.
Changes to biodiversity offsetting?
Governments and businesses are increasingly becoming nature positive to address the biodiversity and climate crises—both of which are intertwined.
In practical terms, the goal of nature positivity is to halt biodiversity loss by 2030 and to stimulate and recover nature by 2050.
EnergyCo’s newly released strategy lists “biodiversity impacts” as a key challenge, and says it is piloting a “strategic approach to biodiversity offsetting in REZs”, without providing the detail, currently.
Meeting biodiversity obligations is a key strategic and financial focus for developers, so the sector will be pushing for clarity on this.
Further support
While many of the priorities are welcome industry news, project proponents still face a complex legislative process when getting renewable projects up and running.
For this reason, Niche’s renewables and REZ-specific experience is valued by clients who are navigating the legislative landscape around transmission projects, energy generation and firming capacity.
Get in touch for more information on how we can support your next project.
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About the author
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Lawrence Smith GAICD
Executive Director – Commercial
