The Nationals Member for Gippsland South Danny O’Brien says the State Government’s decision to push aside current AusNet plans for a new transmission line to connect offshore wind farms creates more uncertainty for the local community.
Mr O’Brien said he supports the efforts of state government agency VicGrid to coordinate transmission lines for new proposed offshore wind farms to avoid creating a spaghetti effect of multiple new lines.
However, he said the decision to scrap all the work previously done by AusnNet on a new line puts the process back and creates more uncertainty.
“This is going to be a difficult issue no matter how it is planned, but I’m disappointed that the Government is persisting with an overhead transmission line and will not consider going underground.
“The decision to utilise a study area along the existing Basslink corridor is probably sensible in that it has impacts on fewer private landholders.
“However, this also reignites a battle that people in the region fought 25 years ago against Basslink and raises more uncertainty,” Mr O’Brien said.
“I am concerned also at how we can trust the Labor Government to properly consult the community after its recent decision to scrap VCAT appeal and planning panel rights for residents subject to renewable energy projects.”
Mr O’Brien said the Government and VicGrid need to answer a number of questions.
- Why is the Government policy going to force Star of the South to abandon its proposed underground transmission line?
- Did the Government consider an offshore connection point for all windfarms with one HVDC underground cable then connecting to the grid at Loy Yang or Hazelwood?
- How will the Government address concerns about close proximity between the proposed new line and the existing Basslink cables?
- Will the Government be upfront about the fact that this transmission line will only cater for 2GW of offshore wind when up to 9GW is planned?
- How many more transmission lines can we expect will be needed?
Mr O’Brien said the fact that previous work done by AusNet has now been thrown out the window also raises questions about the timeline for this project.
“Effectively going back to the drawing board and starting again more than two years after VicGrid was established does raise questions as to whether a transmission line can be in place in time for offshore wind developers.
“Nonetheless, I encourage all affected landholders to engage directly with VicGrid and I will be fighting hard to ensure that the community gets its say.”