Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone

Case Study Context

The Central West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (CWO REZ) is the first of five Renewable Energy Zones to be developed by the NSW Govt and the first REZ formed in Australia, covering an area of 20,000 sq km. It will initially entail the deployment of 4.5GW of grid capacity, which will grow to 6GW by 2038. A competitive process to nominate a Network Operator for the CWO REZ was undertaken by EnergyCo throughout 2022-23, with ACE Energy selected as first-ranked proponent in early 2023.

Delivery

Ekistica was engaged to support the ACE Energy consortium in the development of an RFP Phase submission, with scope including:

•Development of a streamlined approach to generator connections and commissioning in the NEM, covering technical, commercial and regulatory advice to ensure the robustness of proposed solutions during REZ delivery phase

•Regular presentations at EnergyCo Interactive Technical Workshops (ITWs), interim and final bid presentations

•Oversight of power systems modelling studies and reports

•RFP submission write-up, with a particular focus on generator connections and TNSP capability

Following ACE Energy’s selection as first-ranked Network Operator proponent, Ekistica remains engaged to support in the stand up of a new TNSP. Scope includes supporting ACE Energy in establishing a generator connections delivery team, including provision of an interim Project Director and Engineering lead.