Being pursued by ENGIE, the Plains Renewable Energy Park would be constructed about 10km south of Hay, within the South-West NSW renewable energy zone.
At full tilt, the project would have a generating capacity of up to 1,900 megawatts (MW), which is enough to power up to 1.17 million average NSW homes.
It will consist of up to 188 wind turbines and about 400MW of solar panels.
The project is also expected to feature a battery energy storage system with a capacity of up to 400MW/1.6 GWh.
It will cover an area of nearly 60,000ha in Hay Shire and Edward River Council, on two sides of the Cobb Highway on Mungadal Station, owned by Paraway Pastoral Co.
Attending the briefings to represent ENGIE will be ENGIE ANZ development manager Aref Taleb, community engagement manager Merri Bartlett and head of project delivery Dusan Hadzi-Nikolov.
“ENGIE is committed to prioritising opportunities for local employment and the use of local businesses where possible, especially for First Nations peoples,” Mr Taleb said.
“Based on the current project size, if ENGIE’s Plains Renewable Energy Park progresses to construction, we will be recruiting a workforce of about 700 people, so we want to ensure local people are aware and prepared for these potential opportunities.
“The proposed project would see huge new private investment into regional New South Wales, with ENGIE already announcing plans with Hay Shire Council to allocate more than $33 million over the 30-year life of the project, based on a maximum project size, to a community benefits program in Hay and Booroorban.”
ENGIE is currently engaged with the South-West NSW Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) tender process for transmission grid access for the project.
The Deniliquin business briefing will be held on Thursday, August 22, from 7pm at the Deniliquin RSL Club.
The Griffith meeting will be held on August 20, and two meetings will be held at the ENGIE’s community information centre in Hay on August 21.
The first of the Hay meeting is from 6pm and is specifically for First Nations businesses. An open forum will follow from 7pm.
Riverina residents who can't make it to the briefings can email assetdevelopment.au@engie.com for more information about the project.
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