The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has announced a $490 million commitment to the delivery of new electricity grid infrastructure in NSW.
The CEFC debt finance, to NSW EnergyCo, will underpin select expenditure related to the landmark Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (CWO-REZ). Located in regional NSW, the CWO-REZ is a transformative project for Australia's low emissions future.
The CWO-REZ is approximately 20,000 square kilometres centred by Dubbo and Dunedoo.
The funding is provided via the CEFC's Rewiring the Nation (RTN) Fund.
The innovative debt finance arrangement will underpin selected expenditure related to the CWO-REZ. This will include land acquisition for transmission and the purchase of biodiversity offsets. New transmission infrastructure will enable generators (such as solar and wind farms) participating in the REZ to export an additional 4.5 gigawatts of electricity to the rest of the network.
The finance agreement has the potential to deliver as much as a nominal $240 million in benefits to NSW electricity consumers. This will be in the form of lower project costs over the 20-year tenure of the loan.
RTN Fund investments are intended to reduce the funding costs of grid transformation and lower the associated cost to consumers.
