Transgrid energises Project EnergyConnect as NSW hybrid pipeline builds toward 2.5GW tender
Australia's largest transmission link is live, giving developers in the Riverina and South West NSW a physical route to market ahead of Tender 8 results.
Transgrid has fully energised Project EnergyConnect, Australia's largest transmission project, following completion of construction on the New South Wales section of the 900km interconnector linking the state to South Australia. The line's energisation gives renewable developers in the Riverina and South West NSW a direct grid path ahead of the state's most ambitious procurement round yet.4
NSW's consumer trustee AusEnergy Service is managing Tender 8, opened in May (2026-05-21), which seeks 2.5GW of new infrastructure under the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap. The interconnector's completion hands developers bidding into that tender a physical route to load centres, particularly for projects sited in the South West renewable energy zone the line was built to serve.1,4
Transgrid puts gross market benefits at AU$4.2 billion, with net market benefits of AU$964 million for energy consumers. Those figures assume the line delivers on its core purpose: integrating new renewable generation into the National Electricity Market and easing the congestion that has increasingly penalised new entrant generators in the state's renewable energy zones.4
The construction numbers underscore the scale. More than 10 million worker hours went into the NSW section, with 1,508 towers and monopoles requiring 46,068 tonnes of steel and 10,385km of conductor cabling — enough, Transgrid says, to span from Sydney to Perth three times.4
NSW is not waiting for the interconnector to prove itself before committing further capital. The Minns Labor Government has pledged AU$225m in the 2026 NSW Budget to expand grid infrastructure in the South West Renewable Energy Zone, backing four major wind, solar and battery projects expected to power around 1.6 million homes annually once complete.5
The transmission build is landing as the next generation of hybrid projects moves toward construction. Ark Energy, a subsidiary of Korea Zinc, secured approval in June (2026-06-07) to connect its Richmond Valley Solar Farm and battery storage project to the NEM, near Casino in northern NSW. The hybrid combines a 435 MW solar farm with up to 475 MW / 2,200 MWh of battery storage, making it one of the largest solar hybrid facilities in the country.3
Construction is targeted to begin later this year. The first stage comprises a 200 MW solar farm and a 275 MW / 2,200 MWh battery using lithium-iron phosphate chemistry and grid-forming inverters. Grid-forming inverters allow batteries to provide system strength services that have historically come from synchronous coal and gas generators — a capability the NEM increasingly needs as thermal units retire.3
The hybrid model is drawing wider attention. US-based energy storage specialist Fluence said in June (2026-06-22) that the Australian market is emerging as a test bed for hybrid projects combining multiple technologies behind a shared grid connection point.6
Daniel Ryan, technical lead of future energy systems at the University of Technology Sydney, argues that orchestrated wind and battery hybrids could cover almost all of the energy generation and grid services currently provided by Australia's remaining coal plants. Most operational wind and battery projects in Australia are what he describes as "un-orchestrated," with separate control systems. Properly integrated hybrids, Ryan says, can match coal's output profile without the outage risk.2
The economics case for hybrids improves as grid infrastructure lands. Project EnergyConnect gives the South West REZ a direct path to demand centres, and the AU$225m budget commitment signals that the state views further transmission upgrades as a precondition of continued renewable build-out.5
Timing is the exposure. Construction on the Richmond Valley project has not started, and Tender 8 winners have not been announced. The interconnector is energised, but the generation to fill it is still largely on drawing boards. If hybrid projects slip past their 2026-2027 construction windows, the new transmission capacity sits underutilised precisely when the state's coal fleet is scheduled to accelerate retirements.3,1
The Tender 8 outcome is the next concrete signal. The volume of capacity awarded and the storage-to-solar ratio of winning bids will indicate whether developers are willing to commit to the hybrid model at scale, showing what the completed transmission line has actually done to project viability in NSW's renewable energy zones.1,5