CEFC invests $490m in NSW grid infrastructure

This will support the development of the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone.

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) launched its single largest investment of $490m to support the grid infrastructure of New South Wales (NSW).

In a statement, CEFC said the debt finance to NSW EnergyCo, to be provided through the Rewiring the Nation Fund, will be used for the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone.

“This $490 million investment marks an important milestone for the CEFC as well as the new RTN Fund. The considerable scale of this commitment draws on our experience in leading investment in our clean energy future,” CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth said.

“As the second commitment through the RTN Fund, it also signals the strength of our focus on delivering much-needed capital in a timely manner to this large and complex investment task,” it added.

The renewable energy zone could initially unlock at least 4.5 gigawatts of new network capacity.

Specifically, CEFC said the fund would enable EnergyCo to separately finance the spending related to land acquisition with the renewable energy zone and the purchase of biodiversity offsets.

It added that the fund will “ease the overall financing task across the broader REZ for the Network Service Provider.”

EnergyCo will also use the biodiversity offset credits for conservation management and preservation activities.

EnergyCo also projects that the finance deal could deliver as much as $240m in benefits to power consumers in the state through lower project costs with a 20-year tenure loan.