EnergyConnect to unlock cheaper, greener power
Accelerating National Electricity Market decarbonisation
TransGrid is developing essential grid infrastructure which will unlock renewable energy projects across South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales, provide grid security and accelerate the decarbonisation of the National Electricity Market.
1,800 MW
clean energy
1,700
construction jobs
$295m
CEFC finance
EnergyConnect reflects our strong focus on investing in essential grid augmentation as part of Australia’s important renewable energy transition. We see exciting investment opportunities in energy transmission, interconnectors, renewable energy zones, pumped hydro, grid-scale battery storage and green hydrogen. These assets can all play a critical role in the accelerated decarbonisation of our electricity grid, delivering a cleaner and more reliable energy system which takes advantage of our world leading renewable energy resources.Ian LearmonthCEO, CEFC
Our investment
In our single largest investment, the CEFC has committed up to $295 million in capital to play an instrumental role in developing EnergyConnect, delivering essential grid infrastructure.
our impact
EnergyConnect is the second CEFC commitment to major electricity infrastructure, following the $125 million investment backing of Snowy 2.0 grid needs.
EnergyConnect is a vital piece of energy infrastructure spanning more than 900 kilometres. TransGrid is building the NSW portion of the new interconnector, which will connect the energy grids of NSW and SA, with an additional link to North West Victoria.
The Australian Energy Market Operator forecasts that EnergyConnect will unlock as much as 1,800 MW of renewable energy generation across Renewable Energy Zones, including approximately 800 MW in SA, 400 MW in NSW and 600 MW in Victoria.
According to EnergyConnect, the development of this additional renewable energy capacity will lead to the creation of some 950 jobs across the region. In addition, up to 1,700 jobs will be created during construction. Importantly for energy consumers, EnergyConnect is expected to deliver estimated annual energy savings of about $100 to SA households and $60 to NSW households. Businesses can also expect higher savings, proportional to their energy use.
By creating a second point of connection between SA and the NEM, EnergyConnect will significantly reduce the risk of the SA grid being 'islanded' or disconnected from the NEM. Victoria’s Alcoa Portland aluminium smelter will also indirectly benefit from EnergyConnect, with an alternate interconnector from SA to the rest of the NEM enabling critical maintenance to be performed at the nearby Heywood interconnector.
