Sustainability has always been part of what we do at
Transport for New South Wales.
We are committed to responding to climate change and meeting our operations net
zero emission goal by 2035, and we've made significant progress towards this.
In 2021, our Sydney Trains network became the first heavy rail network in Australia
to transition to a 100%
renewable electricity, and that means every train journey our
customers make is now low-carbon.
And that's a significant achievement for both Transport
and the people of New South Wales.
We are really proud that with this change, we are empowering our customers
to reduce their carbon footprint as part of their everyday life.
Operating our train network is the largest use of electricity within
Transport, representing about 86% of our overall electricity use.
This is why reducing carbon emissions from our train network is
the biggest opportunity we've got
to achieve our net zero emissions goals and it's absolutely essential.
Sydney trains and New South Wales TrainLink
together use approximately 874 gigawatt hours of electricity per annum. shifting all this
electricity usage to 100% renewable energy means we are now reducing
carbon emissions by around 700,000 tonnes per annum.
This equates to removing the emissions contributed by
approximately 315,000 cars per year.
It would not be possible for us to accelerate this transition without
our procurement and investment in renewable energy industry through
our contractual supply agreements.
To meet the ambitious net zero target set by the Future Energy
Strategy and strengthened through our Future Transport Strategy,
we negotiate Large-scale Generation Certificates (LGCs) offtake agreements for
our requirements through our existing electricity retailer Red Energy, and a
subsequent contract with Iberdrola Australia.
It has enabled us to be supplied with 100% renewable energy all
the way through to December 2030.
Through these supply agreements, we've achieved our operational
net zero emissions target four years ahead of schedule.
Our electricity is primarily sourced from renewable energy generation
facilities across New South Wales, and we are really proud that our renewable
electricity procurement process is supporting the growth of the renewable
energy industry here in New South Wales.
In making these long-term supply agreements, we can support
companies like Iberdrola Australia
to invest and construct facilities like the new 190 megawatt hour
Avonlie Solar Farm near Narrandera in southern New South Wales.
Once complete, this local solar farm will generate approximately 500 gigawatt
hours of electricity annually, which is the equivalent of more than half of
our train networks' annual
electricity demand.
Across New South Wales, our customers make more than 424 million trips on Sydney,
inner city and regional trains every year.
That's why it's so important for us to provide the people of New South
Wales with sustainable public transport options and maintain our commitment
to net zero emissions for the future.
This is why we'll continue to look for efficiencies across our operations
and see where Sydney trains can reduce its electricity consumption by at least 10%.
Sustainability at transport means we are committed to doing what we can today to
make a difference for generations to come.
So moving to 100% renewable electricity reduces carbon
emissions and builds climate resilience across our heavy rail network.
At Transport, we are continuing to improve and to deliver safer and more sustainable
door-to-door journeys for our customers.
Making every journey people and planet positive.