Name
Chester Li
Job title
Regulatory Affairs Manager
Organisation
Potentia Energy
Speaker biography
Chester Li is the regulatory affairs manager at Potentia Energy.
He focuses on helping projects navigate planning and regulatory frameworks while supporting constructive engagement between industry and government to accelerate Australia’s energy transition.
His interest in Renewable Energy Zones began while working at the NSW Government on the Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap, where he supported the development of regulations for the NSW REZ, access scheme, and LTESA.
He was involved in securing access rights in NSW’s Central-West Orana REZ for the Tallawang Solar Hybrid project and continues to closely monitor the development of REZ frameworks in Victoria and Queensland.
He focuses on helping projects navigate planning and regulatory frameworks while supporting constructive engagement between industry and government to accelerate Australia’s energy transition.
His interest in Renewable Energy Zones began while working at the NSW Government on the Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap, where he supported the development of regulations for the NSW REZ, access scheme, and LTESA.
He was involved in securing access rights in NSW’s Central-West Orana REZ for the Tallawang Solar Hybrid project and continues to closely monitor the development of REZ frameworks in Victoria and Queensland.
Speaking At
Presentation title
Renewable Energy Zone - A Developer's Perspective
Presentation summary
Renewable Energy Zones (REZs) have become the defining feature of Australia’s clean energy transformation. Across the east coast, they promise to supercharge regional economies, unlock new transmission, and fast-track the shift to renewables.
New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria are all progressing with REZs, but each is having a different approach. NSW’s electricity infrastructure roadmap attracts private investment in transmission and generation; Queensland is leveraging its state-owned network to drive network augmentation; and Victoria is diverting almost all investment into REZs.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Nullarbor, WA is charting its own path to decarbonisation. Does WA need a REZ at all to meet its renewable targets?
This presentation will unpack how each state’s REZ framework works in practice, what’s driving investment, what’s slowing it down, and what it means for developers navigating access, connection and policy uncertainty. Finally, it will test the feasibility of a REZ-style model in the WEM, and ask whether WA should join the east coast in building the next generation of renewable energy zones, or keep playing by its own rules.
New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria are all progressing with REZs, but each is having a different approach. NSW’s electricity infrastructure roadmap attracts private investment in transmission and generation; Queensland is leveraging its state-owned network to drive network augmentation; and Victoria is diverting almost all investment into REZs.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the Nullarbor, WA is charting its own path to decarbonisation. Does WA need a REZ at all to meet its renewable targets?
This presentation will unpack how each state’s REZ framework works in practice, what’s driving investment, what’s slowing it down, and what it means for developers navigating access, connection and policy uncertainty. Finally, it will test the feasibility of a REZ-style model in the WEM, and ask whether WA should join the east coast in building the next generation of renewable energy zones, or keep playing by its own rules.
