First stage finished for Hunter-Central Coast renewable energy project

newy.com.au – The first stage of the Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone network infrastructure project has been completed, giving renewable energy projects greater certainty to connect to the grid as the Hunter’s power network is upgraded.

EnergyCo has commissioned Ausgrid to upgrade its distribution network and unlock one gigawatt of network capacity across the region by 2028. The completed first stage will deliver 350 megawatts of extra capacity, more than a third of the additional capacity planned for the REZ. The works included new fibre optic communications linking Muswellbrook Switching Station, Muswellbrook Bulk Supply Point and Mitchell Line Switching Station, using existing infrastructure to improve the Upper Hunter network with minimal new construction.

The broader project is designed to connect an additional 1.8 gigawatts of renewable generation and storage. It includes upgrades to about 85 kilometres of sub-transmission lines, 18 kilometres of new underground fibre optic communications cable, two new energy hubs at Sandy Creek and Antiene, and upgrades to existing substations. EnergyCo says the Hunter-Central Coast project is the first REZ network project in Australia to upgrade existing distribution poles and wires rather than build an entirely new transmission network.

EnergyCo chief executive Hannah McCaughey said the milestone showed construction was progressing in a region expected to remain central to the NSW electricity system.

“EnergyCo welcomes the completion of this important milestone and reinforces that construction is underway to ensure the Hunter will continue to play a critical role in powering NSW. With these works complete, it will provide greater certainty to renewable energy generators to connect to the Hunter-Central Coast REZ by 2028,” she said.

Ausgrid chief executive Marc England said the work was “an exciting milestone” for the project.

“We’re proud of the progress our teams have already made to get the network ready for new connections. It’s another step towards delivering more affordable, reliable power for customers across the Hunter,” he said.

Ausgrid says the network infrastructure upgrades run from Kurri Kurri to Muswellbrook and represent the biggest enhancement to its network in more than 25 years. The project is expected to create 590 jobs during construction and a further 220 local jobs once operational.

The announcement comes against a sensitive local backdrop. Ausgrid says the Hunter-Central Coast REZ upgrade is separate from the Hunter Transmission Project, a new transmission line project that would connect the Central-West Orana and New England REZs with the existing 500 kilovolt network at Eraring.

That related transmission project has been contentious because easements and construction access would affect some private properties. EnergyCo says it has revised the corridor to reduce potentially affected private landowners from 78 to fewer than 20, with more than 89 per cent of the route on mining, energy and government land. However, landowners have told the ABC and a NSW parliamentary inquiry they were under stress over property impacts and alleged unauthorised access. EnergyCo executive Ash Albury told the inquiry, “We would never ask someone to trespass on someone else’s property,” and said where it had happened EnergyCo believed the incidents were accidental and had apologised.