The CEFC has allocated $100 million under the Rewiring the Nation Fund to support the execution of significant clean energy projects in NSW.
The investment will aid in developing renewable generation, long-term storage, and grid infrastructure as part of the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap.
“We are delighted to have been able to move quickly to deliver our first investment through the RTN Fund. This capital injection will help deliver considerable benefits for NSW, underpinning regional investment as well as substantial new flows of clean energy. It will also make a positive impact on the achievement of Australia’s important decarbonisation ambitions,” CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth said.
The NSW Roadmap is a long-term policy framework aiming to transform the NSW energy system by coordinating investment in generation, storage, and firming infrastructure.
The NSW Government estimates that the Roadmap will have enabled the delivery of at least 12 GW of additional renewable energy output by 2030, unlocking over $32 billion in private sector investment.
The Scheme Financial Vehicle (SFV) is responsible for delivering the Roadmap, acting as a counterparty for long-term energy service agreements and private sector infrastructure contracts for renewable energy zones and priority transmission projects, including the Waratah Super Battery, with CEFC investment providing liquidity support.
“Rebuilding our energy system is a large and complex task, with infrastructure projects requiring considerable capital, expertise and time to bring online. As a specialist financier, we are able to use our capital to support investment flows through to project delivery and revenue generation, providing confidence to the market and private sector investors,” Learmonth said.
“In our first decade the CEFC played a key role in developing the large-scale clean energy assets and grid infrastructure required to decarbonise the grid, including investments across a diverse range of direct project-specific investments and via specialist investment funds. We will continue to draw on this expertise in our second decade, via our investments through the RTN Fund.”
The Australian Government has designated the CEFC as the Rewiring the Nation program’s financial arm, committing an additional $19 billion to the CEFC to fund RTN-related projects.
CEFC RTN’s investment priorities include transmission, distribution network, and long-duration storage, with the potential for projects to reduce emissions and strengthen Australia’s electricity grids, including demand management, to ensure security, reliability, and affordability.
The CEFC has committed over $580 million to transmission-related projects, including EnergyConnect and the Southern Downs Renewable Energy Zone, and financed over 5 GW of renewable energy generation with the private sector. The CEFC has also supported the development of four large-scale batteries, including the Victorian Big Battery, Hornsdale Power Reserve, Capital Battery, and Waratah Super Battery.
