Tracking the evolution: a snapshot of the Hunter's history with energy and resources

Welcome to the first article of our Navigating Renewable Energy series. With the push for renewable resources—and the Hunter and Central Coast formally declared a Renewable Energy Zone in 2022—this series aims to raise awareness of the key issues and impacts surrounding the renewable energy industry.

We begin the series with a snapshot of how the Hunter became one of Australia’s most integral locations for energy and resources and how the industry is diversifying to incorporate renewables.

The industrial revolution, originating in the 18th century in what is now known as Great Britain, led to significant improvements in living standards for people worldwide. It is not simply a story of superiority in knowledge or engineering, as some might assume, but rather a story of the availability of cheap energy—specifically, from coal. 

Today, coal remains Australia’s second largest export, trailing only iron ore. The Hunter’s coal industry has long been a strong export industry, with Port Waratah recognised as the largest coal export port in the world. Royalties (which include company taxes) paid to the State of NSW from coal extraction reached $4.5 billion in FY22, more than doubling since 2020, and contributing 4.2% of total NSW Government revenue.  

The coal industry has been established in the Hunter since the late 1700s, when the Hunter River was named the ‘Coal River’ after coal seams were spotted in the cliffs off Newcastle by ships sailing by.  Further up the valley, coal was discovered in the 1800s, prompting numerous commercial operations to commence around Cessnock, Singleton, and Muswellbrook in the following centuries.  For instance, the Muswellbrook Coal Company began its commercial operations in 1907.  

In addition to coal mining, the Hunter Valley has long been a hub for electricity generation. Some of the biggest suppliers of electricity to the NSW and Eastern seaboard grids include the Eraring Power Station, which opened in 1984, the Liddell Power Station, which opened in the 1970s, and the Bayswater Power Station, which opened in the 1980s. All of these power stations are located in the Hunter.

As NSW, and Australia more broadly, diversifies the sources of its electricity supply, it is logical for the growth of renewable energy to centre around the Hunter region, given its established skills and infrastructure supporting the existing coal and electricity generation industries. These industries are a source of wealth for the region, the State, and Australia as a whole. Mining contributed an estimated $64 billion in company taxes and royalties to the Australian economy in 2022 and has accounted for 21% of Australia’s GDP in the last decade. The combination of existing coal and electricity generation capabilities, along with a commitment to renewable energy, means the Hunter is well positioned to remain the ‘powerhouse’ of the State’s economy. You can find out more about the Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone on the NSW Government EnergyCo site here.

With new industries and developments come opportunities, but they can also lead to friction between existing land uses and the incoming industry—sometimes surprising and confusing developers bringing these ‘new opportunities’. This dynamic was seen during the coal boom in the Upper Hunter in 1980s and again in the early 2000s through the 2010s.  However, the coal industry quickly adapted, becoming sophisticated and empathetic in how it proposed and promoted projects and communicated with affected communities to secure the social licence needed to operate.

The Hunter has fuelled the growth and prosperity of NSW since the late 1700s through timber (cedar), coal, steel, electricity generation and now export coal.  The natural next step for the Hunter region is to lead in the energy revolution; the renewables industry will need to be equally agile as those industries that have come before, as will landowners and other industries currently on the fringes that will inevitably become involved in the Hunter’s diversification into renewables. The hard infrastructure is already in place and the 'human capital' is there, with one of the largest concentrations of heavy industry trades and capabilities anywhere in Australia.   

This next phase will be exciting, but tensions will arise from the change in land use and the expansion of industrial activities into agrarian settings. Future articles in this series will address these issues and challenges head on, keeping you informed as the region evolves.