Renewable Energy Zones are powering Australia’s transition – and engineers are moving with it | New Civil Engineer
Renewable Energy Zones (REZs) are fast becoming the backbone of New South Wales’ clean energy shift. These purpose-built clusters bring together wind and solar generation, utility-scale batteries, and new transmission lines in the same places, cutting the cost and complexity of getting low-carbon electricity onto the grid. NSW has committed to five REZs—Central-West Orana, New England, Hunter–Central Coast, South West and Illawarra—each designed to replace retiring coal and deliver reliable, affordable renewable power at scale.
Central-West Orana leads the charge
The Central-West Orana REZ is the most advanced. By the late 2020s, it is slated to add at least 4.5GW of new network capacity, paving the way for up to 7.7GW of renewable generation. Ten large projects have already secured access rights, spanning major wind and solar farms with utility batteries to firm supply. Collectively, this pipeline represents enough clean electricity to power millions of homes and set a template for subsequent zones.
New England accelerates investment
The New England REZ is also scaling quickly, with plans for up to 8GW of network capacity. Private capital is flowing in, reflecting growing confidence in the policy settings and delivery model. Flagship proposals—such as the 1,300MW Pottinger Wind Farm near Hay paired with significant battery storage—signal the step change in project size and ambition now underway across regional NSW.
Building a cleaner, more dependable grid
REZs are more than just a new way to site power plants. By coordinating generation, storage and transmission, they help strengthen the grid, lower wholesale prices, improve reliability and accelerate the retirement of fossil fuel units. This integrated approach is central to NSW’s broader decarbonisation plan, ensuring renewables are delivered where they can be efficiently connected and dispatched.
The results are already visible. In 2023, renewable energy supplied more than one-third of NSW’s electricity—an impressive leap for a state historically reliant on coal. This shift has been enabled by a mix of large-scale projects and a surge in distributed energy resources.
Rooftop solar and home batteries reshape demand
Rooftop solar is now a defining feature of the NSW energy landscape. The state is a national leader in solar adoption, with output climbing by more than 25% year on year. Across Australia, more than four million rooftop systems are installed, and NSW households are a significant share of that total. This behind-the-meter generation flattens daytime demand, reducing the need for expensive peaking power and easing pressure on the grid.
Home batteries are following a similar trajectory. Supported by incentives, thousands of NSW households have added storage, allowing them to save solar energy for evening use and reduce reliance on the grid when demand is highest. When aggregated across suburbs and towns, these small-scale batteries help smooth load profiles, complement utility-scale storage, and add resilience alongside transmission upgrades.
In short, distributed energy is changing how the system operates. More local, flexible and dispatchable resources reduce the role of legacy coal assets, while improving the grid’s responsiveness to customer needs.
The evolving role of engineers
This transformation is reshaping engineering careers and capability requirements. Technical excellence remains essential—but so too do commercial fluency and systems thinking. Engineers from rail, transport and other complex infrastructure sectors are increasingly moving into energy because these projects demand cross-disciplinary skills: program and project controls, risk and interface management, procurement and contract negotiation, systems integration, and stakeholder engagement.
Organisations such as Transgrid and EnergyCo are building teams that understand the National Electricity Market, can deliver major transmission corridors, effectively engage with communities and landholders, and design digital solutions for a more dynamic grid. The ability to coordinate multiple delivery partners, integrate new technologies, and manage environmental and planning approvals is now core to successful outcomes.
From assets to systems leadership
Leadership expectations have shifted from constructing isolated assets to orchestrating an entire ecosystem of infrastructure and talent. Best practices from other sectors are being adapted to the energy transition: staged delivery to reduce risk and accelerate benefits, smart commissioning to ensure performance from day one, robust asset management to extend life and reliability, and strong environmental safeguards to protect biodiversity and communities.
In the REZ model, this systems mindset is critical. Transmission sequencing must align with generation and storage build-out. Grid-forming inverters and advanced control schemes need to be validated early. And digital twins, real-time monitoring and data platforms must be embedded to operate a high-renewables grid safely and efficiently.
Momentum that’s building, not fading
NSW’s energy transition is not slowing. The state’s five REZs are lining up the infrastructure required to replace coal with firmed renewables, while households and businesses continue to invest in solar and batteries. With engineering, technology, investment and policy all moving in concert, NSW is charting a path to a cleaner, smarter and more resilient electricity system—and creating one of the most compelling engineering challenges of this decade.
