Registrations of Interest for New England Renewable Energy Zone now open

MP Adam Marshall said the Registrations of Interest process will see the New England 'milking' the benefits from renewable energy projects without 'sacrificing' agricultural land.

It's still unclear how one good application will be chosen over the next, but Mr Marshall firmly states that those chosen will "reflect the unique nature" of the region.

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Plenty of "absolute cowboys" have already had their hat thrown out of the ring, Mr Marshall said, not having done enough to be taken seriously.

"Some proponents have quite frankly made no attempt to work with the local community or the councils whatsoever," he said.

"The planning process is lengthy, arduous, and robust, and should be because it allows us to sort the wheat from the chaff."

Applicants have to provide information for the planning of the 8000 megawatt REZ, including the estimated investment value, location and project type.

"This process will help to ensure the REZ reflects the unique features of our region, and protects our highly productive agricultural land," he said.

Mr Marshall said the decision to keep or cut a project will be determined during the process, with the community provided "multiple opportunities" throughout the entire six-stage process to engage with the planning system.

"Whether it's solar, wind or pumped hydro and where, [this process] allows us to do a reverse planning process of knocking out various projects until we settle on what works for us as a region, to make sure we can milk all of those good economic benefits from those projects without sacrificing any of our amenity or any of our existing rural industries like really good agricultural land."

While expecting a lot of applications, over-subscription would not see the government move to expand transmission capacity, but rather it would cut applications to fill out the 8000 megawatt capacity.

When asked how he could ensure that proponents are doing real community consultation instead of "ticking the boxes", Mr Marshall said "well, you can't."

"But if they don't do real consultation then they are not helping themselves get their project through," he said.

The Minister for Planning, the Department of Planning and the independent planning commission "takes the communities views very seriously".

"Any proponent that thinks they can get an approval by ignoring the community is kidding themselves," he added.

Renewable Energy Zones (REZs) are modern-day power stations, combining renewable energy generation such as wind and solar, storage such as batteries, and high-voltage poles and wires to deliver energy to the homes, businesses and industries that need it.

The New England REWZ is one of five zones chosen as part of the NSW Government's Electricity Strategy and Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap.

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