The third tender under the New South Wales (NSW) Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap has attracted strong interest from investors, AEMO Services, which runs the tenders as the NSW Consumer Trustee, said on Friday.
The tender, launched in May, received bids for renewable generation capacity totalling 3.1 GW, well above its indicative target of 950 MW, and 1.6 GW of bids for long-duration storage, compared to a target of up to 550 MW. The submitted projects come from a mix of repeat bidders and new entrants, which, according to AEMO Services, is encouraging.
“The competing bids will now undergo an assessment for non-price criteria such as deliverability, and benefits to local communities and First Nations people, after which we’ll assess them closely to determine the most valuable projects for consumers,” said AEMO Services’ executive general manager Paul Verschuer. The results are expected by the end of the year.
The tenders provide investors with Long-Term Energy Service Agreements (LTESAs).
“The insurance nature of the LTESA means that the cost to consumers will materialize only in circumstances where projects are struggling to cover their debt service costs. At the prices bid in the first tenders, this represents better value for consumers compared to traditional contracts for differences,” Verschuer added.
The NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap seeks to back the private sector to install at least 12 GW of new renewable electricity generation and 2 GW of long-duration storage. The first Roadmap tender for generation and long-duration storage was completed in May. The second tender, which is for firming infrastructure, is ongoing.
Source: renewablesnow
