Snowy Energy will supply renewable electricity to New South Wales’ public transport system under a landmark seven-year, $1.9 billion contract. This marks the first time the state’s rail and metro operations have been brought under a single energy agreement.
This will enable the state’s public transport network to avoid the equivalent of 800,000t of CO2 emissions each year.
NSW aims to rapidly decarbonise its public transport fleet as part of a goal to reduce operational emissions by 65 per cent by 2030 and reach net zero by 2035. This comes as the transport sector looks set to become Australia’s largest source of emissions by 2030.
The NSW Government also sees the electrification of transport as an opportunity to save costs, with expectations it can save $130 million on its public transport power bill through the Snowy Energy partnership. This is particularly pertinent given the current surge in fuel prices.
Transport for NSW secretary Josh Murray said the electricity supply deal would be a new-look arrangement for NSW.
“Previously, agencies like Sydney Trains and Sydney Metro have been buying their electricity separately – this move consolidates those operations and costs,” he said.
“We’ve also been able to deliver significant reductions in energy demand through initiatives like rooftop solar at the new Sydney Trains’ Mortdale train maintenance facility and the Clyde engineering hub.
“At Mortdale alone, 2000 solar panels have been installed, generating 1317 megawatt-hours of clean renewable electricity and avoiding around 870 tonnes of carbon emissions per annum, while reducing the amount of electricity that needs to be bought from the grid.”
Snowy Energy – a division of Snowy Hydro – was successful in securing the contract following a competitive tender process and robust two-year review. This saw the company nudge out Origin Energy in the supply for the new Sydney Metro.
