Commonwealth support for NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap welcomed

9 November 2022

AEMO Services acting as the NSW Consumer Trustee welcomes yesterday’s endorsement by Energy Ministers in principle of a Commonwealth Capacity Investment Scheme. The Scheme will operate consistent with the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap to support the build of new firm renewable energy and storage.

The Commonwealth’s Capacity Investment Scheme funding will be available to support the existing Roadmap framework and will not interfere with our competitive tenders underway or scheduled for 2023.

What does this mean for Tender 1 participants?

AEMO Services will continue to evaluate project bids received as part of the settled tender process. There is no impact to how we will assess those bids.

What does this mean for project proponents planning to participate in Tenders 2 and 3, scheduled for 2023?

AEMO Services will continue to conduct competitive tenders for generation, long duration storage and firming infrastructure as detailed in our latest Infrastructure Investment Objectives Report.

Our tenders and the Roadmap

The Roadmap is an integrated approach to driving new private investment in a completely new wave of assets – across transmission, generation, storage and firming – at an unprecedented scale. The key outcome of this will be an exponential growth in renewable energy supply that will put downward pressure on energy prices at the source. At the same time, the Roadmap delivers economic and regional development opportunities and benefit sharing for host communities.

As the Consumer Trustee, AEMO Services delivers a rolling 10-year schedule of biannual tenders that will support generation and storage projects to realise their potential and bring quality energy to market sooner – in the long-term financial interest of NSW electricity consumers.

By delivering a robust competitive tender process, we’ll ensure that competition thrives and the best, most efficient projects which deliver energy in a socially responsible way are supported to construction as early as possible.

For more information on our competitive tenders and long-term plan for meeting NSW’s future electricity needs – please visit aemoservices.com.au.