Dinawan Energy Hub
ABOUT THE PROJECT
A hybrid wind, solar and battery storage energy hub would enable reliable, clean power to be dispatched to the National Electricity Market, offsetting the generation and carbon emission from ageing fossil fuel generators in NSW.
The Dinawan Energy Hub is a ~2.5 gigawatt (GW) proposed hybrid wind, solar and storage project located in the Riverina region in New South Wales, in the heart of the South-West Renewable Energy Zone and on the traditional lands of the Wiradjuri people and several smaller nations of the Murrumbidgee plains.
The proposed Energy Hub would create more than 1,000 jobs during construction, and would have up to 250 wind turbines and 1.5 million solar modules, potentially providing enough clean, reliable energy to power over a million Australian homes annually.
Status:
EIS and SIA preparation
Houses powered annually:
~ 1 million*
Emission offset annually:
~ 6 million tonnes CO₂*
Location:
Riverina, NSW
Traditional lands of the Wiradjuri people and several smaller nations of the Murrumbidgee plains
* Based on capacity of 2.5 GW
Generation capacity:
Wind farm: ~1.5 gigawatts
Solar farm: ~1 gigawatt
Battery energy storage:
~500 megawatts
(or 1,000 MWh over 2 hours)
Investigation area:
43,324 hectares
Generation units:
~ 250 wind turbines
~ 1.5 million solar modules
Developer
The proposed project is being developed by Spark Renewables, one of Australia’s leading developers and long-term owners of renewable energy generation assets. Spark Renewables is a part of the Spark Infrastructure Group, one of Australia’s leading investors in critical energy infrastructure assets. Read more about us and our team.
LOCATION
Dinawan Energy Hub project is located about halfway between Coleambally and Jerilderie on the land of the traditional owners of Wiradjuri people and several smaller nations of the Murrumbidgee plains in the NSW South-West Renewable Energy Zone.
The investigation area was prepared to avoid woodlands of the weeping myall (boree) woodland, which is a protected species. The investigation area for the wind farm is 38,824 hectares with the overall wind farm footprint expected to be 1-2% of this area, and the investigation area for the solar farm is 4,500 hectares.
The project is on the route of the EnergyConnect interconnector, which will run between Robertstown, South Australia and Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. The project is strategically positioned to support the network as well as the proposed Humelink and VNI West (Keranglink) interconnectors.
PLANNING & CONSULTATION
Project status: Scoping Reports lodged & SEARs received
The proposed Dinawan Energy Hub is considered State Significant Development under NSW planning legislation. The NSW Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) will assess the development application documents and the consent authority will be the Minister for Planning or the Independent Planning Commission.
Scoping Reports for the wind farm and for the solar farm were lodged with the DPE in November 2022. The Scoping Reports outline the proposed project in more detail and identify important issues that will require further assessment, consultation and technical studies. The DPE issued its requirements, known as Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs) on 14 December 2022. These documents can be viewed on the DPE Major Projects website by searching for "Dinawan".
Next, the SEARs will be addressed in a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that will be prepared over the coming year.
Formal NSW planning process
Community consultation
As part of the planning and development process, we are undertaking extensive consultation with the community, stakeholders and Traditional Custodians of the land. The consultation will take place via community drop-in sessions, community briefings, surveys, one-on-one meetings, newsletters, our project website, and social media. We encourage all stakeholders and community members to get involved.
Find out more and have your say:
- Sign up to newsletters.
- Request a one-on-one meeting or call.
- Provide feedback via surveys.
If you have questions, feedback or would just like to register for future updates, please complete this short online form. You can also leave a message at 1300 271 419 to speak to one of the Spark Renewables team.
OUR APPROACH: SUPPORTING FARMERS & THE LOCAL ECONOMY
TIMELINE
Step 1 - complete
Project identification ✔
2021-2022
Step 2 - complete
Initiate community consultation and preliminary studies ✔
2023
Step 3 - in progress
Development Application and Environmental Impact Statement
2024
Step 4
Development consent
2025/2026
Step 5
Final investment decision
2025-2026
Step 6
Construction
2027 onwards
Step 7
Operations