The Minns Labor Government is taking further action to bolster the reliability of the state’s power supply with the opening of a competitive tender for new firming infrastructure.
Energy Minister Penny Sharpe has directed ASL, the independent Consumer Trustee, to conduct a tender targeting 500 MW of firming capacity to be operational by November 2027.
Projects could include batteries (including groups of smaller batteries), gas generation or demand response.
They must be able to supply additional capacity or reduce load at short notice for the Sydney-Newcastle-Wollongong grid.
Firming infrastructure is essential to the operation of the electricity system, helping to smooth supply of renewable energy and to meet peaks in consumer demand.
This tender is the seventh under the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap, which has already helped secure historic investment in new generation and storage infrastructure across the state.
It also follows the Australian Government’s recent announcement confirming the Capacity Investment Scheme tender in NSW has secured 1,250 MW and 4.3 GWh of storage capacity across five projects.
The Minns Labor Government is delivering on its energy plan for NSW, to ensure the state has access to affordable and clean renewable energy as coal-fired power stations age and retire.
Right now, around 36% of NSW’s electricity comes from renewable sources. The projects we’ve backed already will move us to more than two-thirds of the way to our 2030 renewable energy generation goal, and about 40% of the way to our 2030 long-duration storage target.
The NSW Roadmap framework provides the NSW Government and its delivery agencies with levers to meet changing energy system requirements.
For more information and to apply for this tender, visit the ASL website.
Quote attributable to Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Penny Sharpe:
“The NSW Roadmap is well and truly in the delivery phase, with construction underway in the Central-West Orana REZ and NSW having locked in more than two thirds of our 2030 electricity generation target.
“As we continue to transform our energy system, we know there will be challenges, which is why we’re taking decisive steps now to keep the lights on and prevent price spikes down the track. That’s what this is about.”