NSW is pushing ahead with plans to boost its renewable energy footprint with a plan to help distribute enough power for 1.4 million homes from a project based in the state's central west.
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High-voltage transmission lines and substations designed to bring online more renewable energy, will be part of the project which NSW Energy Minister Matt Kean on Thursday said has been deemed critical infrastructure.
"Transmission is such a critical piece of the energy infrastructure puzzle," he said.
"We have seen huge investment interest in generation and storage projects ... and projects like this will ensure we can get that capacity into the grid and into homes and business across the state."
NSW parliament last month rubber-stamped an electricity "road map", claiming to enable $32 billion in private sector investment in energy by 2030 and bring 12 gigawatts of renewable energy and two gigawatts of storage online.
The central west project is forecast to "pave the way for $5.2 billion in private investment in renewable energy", Planning Minister Rob Stokes said.
"This would increase the grid's capacity and enable the development of Australia's first coordinated Renewable Energy Zone which will support the pipeline of wind, solar and energy storage projects in the Central West Orana region."
The environmental impacts of the works will be outlined in a report due to be assessed next year.
Australian Associated Press
