The Infrastructure Investment Objectives Report is our plan to meet NSW’s future electricity infrastructure needs.
The IIO Report sets out a development pathway for the next twenty years, and a tender plan for the next decade. It identifyies the timing and scale for renewable energy generation and storage investment, and provides the necessary flexibility to ensure we continue to prioritise the interests of energy consumers.
Working from the blueprint set out by the IIO Report, AEMO Services considers the latest available information when assessing tender bids and network infrastructure project authorisations.
The Report is updated on a regular basis to reflect progress against our objectives and evolving market conditions.
- After 2030, the pathway includes significantly more generation infrastructure to 2043.
- Long-duration storage being delivered later in the 2020s than under the Development Pathway in the 2022 IIO Report reflecting longer lead times for pumped hydro projects.
- Firming infrastructure is consistent with the Development Pathway in the 2022 IIO Report with standalone firming tender required in 2023 to ensure reliability following the announced exit or Eraring coal fired power station in summer 2025/26. No further firming is then required until 2040, when additional firming is forecast to be required to meet reliability needs.
- The Draft 10-Year Plan in respect of generation and long-duration storage infrastructure has been updated to set out more regular-sized tenders.
In its 2022 Integrated System Plan (ISP) , AEMO identified that investment in essential transmission infrastructure (in addition to renewable energy generation and storage) remains the best strategy to deliver affordable and reliable energy, by connecting regions of high potential renewable energy to the load centres. Consistent with this recommendation, the Draft 2023 IIO report considers network infrastructure that may be required to facilitate or otherwise affects the Draft Development Pathway. The co-optimisation of the delivery of NSW REZ network infrastructure with the build of generation, storage and firming infrastructure enables AEMO Services to determine a Development Pathway that improves cost outcomes for NSW customers.
In addition to using this co-optimisation to inform the preparation of the Draft Development Pathway, AEMO Services provided advice to EnergyCo on the modelled optimal combination and sequence of network infrastructure projects under different conditions for EnergyCo’s consideration in developing the upcoming Network Infrastructure Strategy (NIS).
Draft 2023 IIO public webinars
Draft 2023 IIO Report webinar briefing – 18 May 2023
Draft 2023 IIO Report webinar briefing – 23 May 2023
2023 IIO Deep Dive – VRE Lulls
2023 Deep Dive – Costs
2023 Deep Dive – Scenarios
AEMO Services, as the NSW Consumer Trustee, was directed by the NSW Minister for Energy to conduct a competitive tender for Long-Term Energy Services Agreements (LTESAs) for firming infrastructure.
In response to this direction and as required by the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Act 2020 (NSW) (EII Act), we produced a Firming Infrastructure Investment Objectives Report (‘Firming IIO Report’). The Firming IIO Report sets out a development pathway for firming infrastructure and key parameters of Tender Round 2 for firming infrastructure that was conducted in response to the direction. This includes:
- The timing of the tender (which commenced 3 April 2023).
- The indicative target capacity of firming infrastructure LTESAs of 380 MW located in the Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong sub-region and operational by Summer 2025-26. More information on eligibility is available in Market Briefing Four.
The EII Act requires that firming infrastructure is scheduled by AEMO in its central dispatch process under the National Electricity Rules.
- This report does not amend the timing or indicative size of Tender 1, currently in progress.
- Tender 2, which we expect to hold in Q2 2023, will be for firming, generation and long-duration storage (LDS) with the following indicative sizes:
- Firming: 380 MW of firming infrastructure located in the Sydney-Newcastle-Wollongong sub-region
- Generation: 2,500GWh of annual generation (equivalent to 950MW)
- Long Duration Storage: Up to 600MW with the size dependent on how much storage is awarded in Tender 1. LDS tenders are planned to occur annually however there is an option to undertake a contingent tender should the need arise. In this case we are planning an LDS tender to complement the firming tender because LDS and firming infrastructure can service similar functions in terms of reliability.
- There are no other changes to the generation and long-duration storage elements of the Development Pathway and 10-Year Plan from the 2021 IIO Report.
- A draft 2023 IIO Report is expected to be published for consultation in early 2023.
Generation Long-Term Energy Service Agreement Size
This report sets out a 10-Year Plan for competitive tenders for built energy infrastructure to give effect to the Development Pathway. It has now been superseded by X . The updated plan remains substantially the same as that contained in the 2021 IIO Report , except for the following three changes:
- A Q2 2023 tender for an indicative amount of 380 MW of firming infrastructure has been added.
- A tender for long-duration storage infrastructure has been added alongside the Q2 2023 firming tender, with its indicative size contingent on the conduct of the Q4 2022 tender for long-duration storage infrastructure.
- Given the passage of time since the 2021 IIO Report, the 10-Year Plan has been extended to cover 2031-2032, but no additional tenders are identified to be required in that year to give effect to the next year of the Development Pathway.
Tenders for long-duration storage (LDS) have not changed since publication of the 2021 IIO Report and are outlined in the figure below.
As the NSW Consumer Trustee, AEMO Services has prepared the Infrastructure Investment Objectives Report - our blueprint for meeting the state’s future electricity needs.
It sets out a development pathway for the next twenty years, and a tender plan for the next decade, identifying the timing and scale for generation and storage investment over that period and building in flexibility to ensure that the interests of consumers are always prioritised.
The repeatable, rolling tender schedule set out in the Infrastructure Investment Objectives Report guarantees efficiency and certainty for participants, and encourages ongoing familiarity with AEMO Service’s processes.
The Report will be updated at least every two years.
Generation Long Term Energy Service Agreement Size
Following the publication of the 2021 Investment Objectives Report in December 2021, AEMO Services published an Update to the Tender Plan Implementation (below). This update outlined how AEMO Services intends to implement its 10 year plan for conducting competitive tenders for generation LTESAs including an updated larger tender in Q4 2022 at an increased indicative size of 2,500 GWh per annum.
The figure below shows the current implementation of the 10 year plan for generation LTESAs tenders, in line with the April 2022 update, and how this compares to the 10 year plan originally presented in the 2021 IIO Report.
Long Duration Storage Long Term Energy Service Agreement Size
Tenders for long duration storage (LDS) have not changed since the publication of the 2021 IIO Report and are outlined in the figure below.
