Newly elected Member for Northern Tablelands has concerned and disappointed many by calling for a moratorium on renewable energy developments in the New England Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) today.
In a media release, Mr Moylan claimed there is enormous pressure on councils and landholders and growing uncertainty within the community about proposed projects within the New England REZ. Naming Uralla and Walcha Councils specifically – two communities that significantly benefit from renewable developments – he implied impropriety on behalf of the developers and that the impact on council services such as local roads and waste systems was grounds to halt the developments.
“The New England REZ is an issue I inherited, but I am determined to make sure that landholders and the community are treated fairly. It cannot be a free-for-all for developers,” Mr Moylan said.
Mr Moylan went on to imply that communities and landholders were not being compensated fairly, calling for legislation that would prohibit business transactions between landholders and developers from being confidential.
Unknowns and accessible information
Mr Moylan made a number of references to the Central-West Orana REZ which is near Dubbo, stating: “I am extremely concerned that in budget estimates this week the Premier admitted he did not know the intended network generation or the total capacity of the approved projects in the Central-West Orana REZ.”
“According to council data, the total generation from the Central-West Orana REZ comes in at just over 12.5 gigawatts (GW), which is at least four times the original plan of 3 gigawatts.”
A spokesperson for EnergyCo said it is unclear how the 12.5 GW number has been arrived at.
“Within the Central-West Orana REZ there are currently 7.7 GW seeking approval, 2 GW approved, and 0.6 GW in service.”
“For various reasons, not all projects seeking or with planning approval will get built,” the spokesperson said.
“While the Central-West Orana REZ was originally intended to have a network capacity of 3 GW, through the Network Infrastructure Strategy we found it necessary to increase the network capacity to provide secure, affordable and clean energy to NSW consumers before coal-fired power stations retire.”
“It was increased to 6 GW but will operate at 4.5 GW during an interim period. Only one change has occurred, and this was in 2023.”
Concerningly, Mr Moylan admitted to being uninformed on these matters.
“I’m the local MP and even I don’t have any information about the likely size of the REZ, the type of proposed projects or the location of the proposed projects. This information should be readily available not just for the local MP, but for everyone in our communities,” said Mr Moylan.
“I’m not saying all renewable projects should be scrapped, but the Minns Labor Government needs to be transparent, and we need to know how big this REZ is going to be and the detail of those projects.”
“The Government should guarantee that the New England REZ won’t become a dumping ground for renewable projects like we have seen in the Orana REZ.”
The intended network capacity of the New England REZ is 8GW. The details Mr Moylan claims to be unable to access are easily obtainable from EnergyCo’s website. For those not comfortable with the official government source of information, there are a number of other sources, including the frequently updated map on the Voice for Walcha site.
The EnergyCo spokesperson said Mr Moylan was offered a briefing by the agency on August 8, his first day in parliament, at a time of his choosing. The agency has an appointment with Mr Moylan for September 18.
Lack of consultation
Despite the crux of his call for a moratorium being about better consultation and information, it would appear that Mr Moylan had not consulted with those who would be affected by any halt to renewables development in the region.
ACEN, one of the largest companies operating in the New England Region, operators of the widely supported New England Solar and Battery Project and proponents of Deargee Solar, both sites near Uralla, implied they have had no contact with the new MP as yet.
“ACEN Australia congratulates Mr Moylan on his recent election to the NSW Legislative Assembly,” an ACEN spokesperson said.
“We plan to introduce our projects to him in the next few months, including our spend to date on community benefits sharing, strategies to mitigate community impacts and our ongoing stakeholder and community consultation plans.”
Editorial: An apology to the voters of the Northern Tablelands
Uralla based Meralli Solar also weren’t consulted, Executive Director Methuen Morgan saying Mr Moylan’s comments were surprising and lacking in nuance. It is not clear if Mr Moylan intended for smaller projects, including Meralli’s proposed Thunderbolt Community Solar Farm at Uralla, to be stopped as well as part of his desired moratorium.
“Theoretically there is enough potential on the medium voltage network in NSW to power the entire eastern seaboard, every single day, without using massive tracts of land and installing new High Voltage (HV) lines, that also help improve regional energy reliability,” Dr Morgan said.
“We’ve been arguing for some time, and actively building utility scaled distributed dispatchable BESS (Battery Energy Storage System) centric solar generators, which don’t require large tracts of land, that can allow local investors to generate income from the National Energy Market (NEM) without new high voltage poles and wires.”
“There are four projects within an hour of Moree that are examples of what can be achieved on the medium voltage (MV) network, that doesn’t have the same impact these large-scale hundreds of megawatts projects have on the local community.”
“MV projects should be afforded the same level of support from Government that the large scale HV investments receive.”
“We look forward to working with the Mr Moylan to showcase the already operating alternatives and putting energy investment and income back into the hands of his constituents.”
And although he was in the room, it appears he did not listen to the collective will of NSW Farmers who specifically considered, and voted against, any moratorium on renewable energy developments at their recent Annual General Conference.
Sustained momentum, not a moratorium
Community Power Agency’s Heidi McElnea, who has been supporting local communities over the past two years to shape the impacts and opportunities of the New England Renewable Energy Zone, expressed disappointment at the statement from the new MP.
“It is incredibly disappointing that the Nationals continue to delay renewable energy as coal-firedpower winds down,” she said.
McElnea’s work includes multiple collaborations on skills and workforce, accommodation, conservation and agrisolar.
“This is a critical time for REZ coordination and slamming on the brakes will only cause more uncertainty for communities.”
“Local councils are finalising their community benefit frameworks and developing housing strategies. Businesses are gearing up. Educational leaders at UNE are driving a regional development approach to manufacturing and ag-tech in the renewable energy context.”
“We need sustained momentum, not a moratorium.”
“I have written to Mr Moylan to request a meeting as soon as possible so that we can discuss the coordination currently underway and what further resources he could be using his powers to call for.”
“Mr Moylan needs to look at this with a calm head, and if he is not sure where to go for information on the New England REZ then I and others are more than happy to help,” she said.
“The Scoping Report, recently lodged with the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, is a great place to start.”
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