APA Group has joined with France’s EDF to bid to construct NSW’s second renewable energy zone in an attempt to capture a share of the $50 billion opportunity involved with connecting wind and solar farms to the grid.

APA chief executive Adam Watson described EDF, part of a consortium to bid to build the New England REZ, as “incredibly strategic” for the pipeline company. “They’re one of the largest – if not the largest – electricity transmission companies in the world, and they bring great synergies to us as Australia’s leading energy infrastructure provider,” he said.