Approval times for renewable energy projects in New South Wales are among the slowest in Australia, according to a new report from the Clean Energy Investor Group (CEIG).
While the report, Delivering Major Clean Energy Projects in NSW: 2026 Update, identifies approval time progress made by the Planning Department since 2023, particularly in regards to wind projects, planning approval processes for major renewables projects in NSW remain uncertain, costly, and significantly longer than other states.
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Issues identified in the report include:
- Despite improvements, wind energy approvals remain slow, taking 1384 days on average to approve (March 2021 to March 2026)
- Planning timelines have lengthened for solar (1138 days) and battery projects (614 days)
- Development application fees in NSW are well above other jurisdictions, with NSW planning application fees up to 48 times higher than in Queensland, and more than 10 times higher than Victoria and Western Australia.
“NSW topped our 2025 member survey as the most attractive state for clean energy investment, however, there are still delays and bottlenecks when it comes to turning dollars into electrons in the state,” CEIG CEO Richie Merzian said.
“NSW is charging developers up to 48 times more for a planning application than Queensland but taking three times longer to approve solar and wind farms, something has to change. Let’s use the NSW Budget in June to reform, improve and deliver on clean energy.
“NSW has taken important steps forward, particularly through the Renewable Energy Planning Framework and broader reforms, but approval processes for major clean energy projects remain too slow, too uncertain and too expensive.
“Clean energy investors are ready to deploy billions of dollars into renewable energy and infrastructure in NSW, but the planning system must be equipped to facilitate timely and efficient decision-making. Our report sets out how.”
CEIG’s recommendations to improve approval certainty and reduce delays include:
- properly resourcing the Investment Delivery Authority (IDA) and Development Coordination Authority (DCA)
- expanding the use of Critical State Significant Infrastructure (CSSI) and State Significant Infrastructure (SSI) pathways for major renewable energy and storage projects
- streamlining scoping documents for environmental impact assessments and reducing duplicative RFIs
- shifting more detailed matters to the post-approval stage where appropriate
- broadening access to Strategic Offset Delivery Agreements (SODAs)
- reducing merit appeal risks for State significant clean energy projects.
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The report also recommends reviewing NSW’s development application fee structure, noting that fees are heavily linked to project capital costs even where higher costs do not necessarily increase assessment complexity or government resourcing requirements.
Read the report in full here.
