NSW Department of Planning and Environment – Renewable Energy Sector Board
NSW
Study and policy recommendations inform employment and development opportunities in NSW's renewable energy sector.
SGS partnered with the UTS Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF) to assess employment and industry development opportunities under the establishment of NSW’s five Renewable Energy Zones.
Prepared for the NSW Renewable Energy Sector Board, the study provides advice as an input to its plan for renewable energy to the Minister for Energy and Environment. The study:
- mapped renewable energy supply chains
- undertook a ‘baseline and opportunity’ evaluation of the capacity of regional areas to increase local employment and industry development from hosting the new Renewable Energy Zone
- evaluated a range of opportunities for increased employment and local development such as manufacturing wind towers, training regional engineers and wind technicians developing a national workforce for transmission construction and battery storage supply chain, and circular economy opportunities such as PV recycling hubs, and
- developed recommendations on new policy initiatives including procurement and local content, skills and training, strategic planning and infrastructure and economic development.
This research has informed the NSW Renewable Energy Sector Board's Plan, which was endorsed and published by the NSW Government in September 2022.
The plan includes a large number of recommendations and actions from this study. In response to our recommendations, the NSW Government agreed to establish a $250m fund for renewable energy manufacturing and develop a NSW renewables training strategy.
