Demo seed — verify before use. This dashboard distinguishes between declared REZs, proposed or candidate REZs, access-rights projects, planning-portal projects, priority-list projects and offshore wind declared areas. Status does not imply final approval unless confirmed by the relevant authority.
Data currency: 2026-05-18 · 59 of 67 projects verified at confidence ≥ 70/100
A4-formatted handout designed to be printed and physically distributed. For the digital one-pager, see the Executive brief.
Issued 2026-05-18 · v1.0
Regional Project Intelligence
REZ Project Watch — NSW handout
A regional-development perspective on NSW's renewable energy build-out. The figures, projects and decisions below are drawn from public sources and traceable through the online dashboard at rez.lecroma.com.au.
18
approved / UC
NSW REZ projects
12.58 GW
capacity
post-determination
67
projects
across NSW REZs
39.21 GW
MW total
tracked (where confirmed)
44
LGAs
host or affected
The shift
NSW's renewable energy transition has moved from "will it happen?" to "can the regions deliver it at this pace?" 18 projects across CWO, SW and HCC REZs are now approved or under construction — 12.58 GW of capacity locked in. The constraint has shifted from planning approvals to regional delivery capacity.
Five tensions under REZ delivery
Speed vs consent. The transition needs pace; rushing regional engagement creates delay later.
Project-by-project approvals vs REZ-wide impacts. Communities experience projects together while the planning system assesses them apart.
Temporary workforce demand vs permanent housing need. Worker accommodation must not cannibalise local housing — but can leave a useful legacy where designed for both.
Benefit money vs public trust. Funding alone will not repair trust if communities believe decisions are already made.
Competition vs coordination. Proponents compete for access, labour, contractors — but need to cooperate on regional capacity.
Shared Value Masterplan — seven parts
Shared evidence base
Cumulative impact map
Regional priorities framework (5–7 priorities)
Precinct-based solutions (hubs + spokes)
Benefit-sharing architecture
Governance and decision rights
Staged delivery plan
Full framework + six-step practical recipe at rez.lecroma.com.au/masterplan.
Where the pipeline sits — by REZ
Each NSW declared REZ, its lead agency, tracked projects, post-determination capacity, and the ABS Census 2021 construction workforce baseline in the host LGAs. The dashboard's REZ workspaces hold the project-level detail.
REZ
Lead agency
Projects
Approved / UC
Capacity (UC)
Construction baseline (ABS)
Central-West Orana REZ
Centred near Dubbo / Mid-Western Regional / Warrumbungle Shire LGAs
ABS construction baseline: sum of host-LGA Construction industry employment (Census 2021, place-of-usual-residence) × applied construction share. See the Workforce module for methodology.
Cross-sector competing pressures
13 non-REZ major NSW projects compete for the same regional workforce in the 2027-2029 window: Inland Rail, Sydney Metro West, Western Sydney Airport, Coffs Harbour Bypass, Great Western Highway, John Hunter HIHP, Singleton Bypass, Dubbo Hospital, Mt Pleasant Mine, Tweed Valley Hospital, M6 Stage 1, New England Highway upgrade, Warragamba (paused). The full cross-sector view is at rez.lecroma.com.au/competing-pressures.
Regional spend signal
Modelled total regional spend across NSW REZ projects 2024-2031: ~$23.7 billion (phase-weighted local content, CSIRO GenCost 2024 with 2025-26 wind escalation cross-checked against Origin Energy's $5B+ Yanco Delta disclosure). The headline constraint is cross-project coordination: without it, local content collapses to whichever proponent locks supply chains first. See /regional-spend for the methodology.
Next public decisions
The nearest scheduled public moments in the project pipeline. The full forward calendar tracks 19 decisions through 2028 at rez.lecroma.com.au/decisions.
2026-06operations startLiddell Battery — full commercial operations target
AGL's 500 MW / 1,000 MWh grid-forming BESS at the Hunter Energy Hub targeted for full commercial operations. First-of-its-kind at the decommissioned coal site.
2026-06submissions response dueVNI West — Submissions Report + Amendment Report due
Transgrid and Transmission Company Victoria's response to submissions on the VNI West NSW EIS expected mid-2026. Pivotal for SW REZ project deliverability (PEC + VNI West are the network spine).
2026-07-15council om with daMid-Western Regional Council — Ordinary Meeting (CWO REZ workforce agenda item)
Indicative council OM with CWO REZ workforce accommodation strategy expected on the agenda. Multiple proponent VPA negotiations active. Mid-Western Regional is the most concentrated CWO LGA.
2026-08eis exhibition openBendemeer Wind Farm — EIS exhibition expected to open
Following scoping report submission, EIS exhibition for the wind component of the Bendemeer Renewable Energy Hub expected mid-2026. Submission window typically 28-60 days.
2026-09eis exhibition openCobbora Solar Farm — EIS submission to DPHI
EIS submission anticipated late Q3 2026 per Pacific Partnerships guidance. Includes 700 MW solar + 400 MW / 1,600 MWh BESS at the former Cobbora coal site.
2026-09council electionNSW Council elections — pre-election determination restrictions
NSW Council elections trigger four-week pre-election determination restrictions on contested major DAs. Pinch-point for any proponent banking on a council determination in this window.
Alignment with the Regional Energy Accord
The seven emerging principles from the Accord's Phase 1 listening tour — operationalised in the dashboard.
Trust-centered approach — every fact source-linked, unknowns marked as unknown, basis labels on estimates.
Enhanced support for regional leadership — Pillar 2 practical steps; councils + JOs + RDA as delivery partners.
Recognition of First Nations — regional-scale negotiation; consultation-vs-briefing distinction.
Meaningful, coordinated community engagement — REZ-level reference groups; standing bodies.
Cumulative environmental + social impacts — REZ-scale pressure model across six stressor categories.
Community-determined legacy benefits — Shared Value Masterplan anchored to CSPs + RDA plans.
Investment in regional prosperity — local-content tracking at REZ scale; regional supplier register.
For follow-up
Greg Ley · Lecroma — independent regional project intelligence and shared-value governance advisory. Visit lecroma.com.au for engagement options, or rez.lecroma.com.au for the live dashboard.
Sourcing and how to read this
Sources
EnergyCo NSW, AEMO Services (access scheme decisions), AEMO Generation Information, NSW Planning Portal (Major Projects), DCCEEW EPBC notices, NSW Independent Planning Commission, ABS Census 2021 (industry of employment), CSIRO GenCost 2024 (capex benchmarks), council Ordinary Meeting agendas and decisions, proponent investor disclosures and EIS documents. Every claim in the dashboard is anchored to one or more of these and listed in the Source Registry at /sources.
Confidence and basis
Estimates carry a basis label: proponent-stated, EIS-stated, benchmark estimate (e.g., CSIRO GenCost), or unknown. Confidence scores (0-100) attach to each project event and decision point. Where a value is unknown it is shown as unknown, not imputed.
What this is — and isn't
This is a regional development perspective on a network and policy build-out.
It is not investment advice, not a planning instrument, and not a substitute for proponent or agency documents.
It contains no personal information and is built without scraping.
Errors will exist. The dashboard's /changes page shows what has been corrected, added or superseded.
