REZ Project Watch
Tracking renewable energy, storage and transmission projects through the lens of delivery certainty, cumulative impact and regional value.
18 NSW REZ projects approved or under construction — 12.58 GW of new capacity now post-determination.
The question is no longer "will these projects happen?". It is whether planning, workforce, housing, roads, local business capacity and benefit-sharing keep pace with the project pipeline.
The eight quotable numbers the rest of this dashboard exists to evidence. Each links to the page where the underlying data lives.
approved or under construction across NSW REZs — ~12.6 GW post-determination (access-right scale)
concurrent construction workforce 2027-2029 across CWO + SW REZs
SW REZ peak demand vs existing regional construction workforce (ABS Census 2021)
into NSW regional economies 2024-2031 at 22% local content — contingent on cross-project coordination
competing for the same workforce: Inland Rail, data centres ($51.9B IDA cohort), Defence (AUKUS + Holsworthy), hospitals, highways
in the public calendar through 2027 — IPC sittings, EIS exhibitions, council OMs
without access rights — 2.7+ GW waiting on scheme expansion (Argoon, Wanganella, etc.)
every project, claim and number traces back to a public source registered in the dashboard
Try it: click any REZ marker for the drill-down panel and links into the detailed pages. Click any project dot to open its detail page. Toggle status layers above to filter the project pipeline visually.
Click any REZ marker on the map to drill in — the side panel surfaces every related dashboard page (timelines, cumulative pressure, workforce, regional spend, business certainty). Click any project dot to open its detail page.
- Operating + under construction
- Approved + access rights
- Approved (no access right)
- In planning + access rights
- In planning (no access right)
- Scoping / investigation / candidate
- Withdrawn / refused
The SW REZ awarded 3.56 GW of access rights in 2024 against 15+ GW of bids. The unsuccessful proposals remain in the planning system — click the SW REZ marker to see all of them, flagged as candidates for any future access-scheme expansion.
Indicative projects likely under construction in each year, by REZ. Built from current project status and publicly stated proponent timelines where known. Not a forecast.
Read this carefully: the chart shows how many projects across NSW REZs are likely to be under construction in the same year. Even allowing for staggered starts and conservative window estimates, 2027 and 2028 cluster around 10+ projects concurrently across just two REZs (CWO and SW). That is the cumulative-pressure window. Projects in earlier stages (scoping, investigation area) are not yet in the window — if their planning advances on current timelines, the peak shifts later but does not flatten.
First REZ declared in NSW under the EII Act. ~3 GW network capacity target. Access scheme operational and access rights awarded to multiple projects. REZ Transmission Project under construction.
~8 GW potential network capacity. Access scheme under development; substantial early-stage project pipeline still in investigation-area / SEARs phase.
Riverina REZ. Access rights awarded to six projects across four proponents totalling ~3.56 GW. Coordination with PEC Eastern Section operating infrastructure.
Energy-transition corridor near existing Hunter Valley generation sites. Strong proximity to existing transmission and load centres.
Offshore-focused onshore REZ; planning interfaces with Commonwealth Illawarra offshore wind declared area.
- Cumulative pressure. Workforce, accommodation, OSOM transport and local roads are project-by-project assessed but REZ-level concentrated.
- Workforce accommodation. Overlapping construction peaks across multiple projects can outstrip rental, motel and short-term capacity in regional towns.
- Fragmented benefit sharing. Multiple proponents announcing separate small funds without REZ-level coordination dilutes regional value and creates governance opacity.
- Coordinated planning at REZ scale. Treat the REZ as a coordination unit, not just a network planning boundary.
- Precinct workforce and accommodation strategy. Plan accommodation, transport and skills at REZ or precinct level when construction peaks overlap.
- Shared Value Masterplan. Pooled benefit governance aligned with council, RDA and First Nations regional priorities. Concept page →