Planning for Victoria’s future renewable energy projects will be handled by the state government but it has stopped short of taking the reins on two controversial transmission blueprints.
Energy Minister Lily D'Ambrosio launched the Victorian Transmission Investment Framework on June 8, which will shift future planning, development and consultation for renewable energy transmission to government body VicGrid.
It means an expanded scope for VicGrid, which already co-ordinates the planning and development of Victoria’s renewable energy zones.
As part of the changes, D'Ambrosio said new priority areas would be identified by early 2024 and a new draft transmission plan published for consultation later next year.
“This is a once in a generation opportunity to reform the way we plan our energy infrastructure with genuine consultation with communities and industry at the heart of the process,” D'Ambrosio said.
The move comes on the heels of a ministerial order to progress the Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) Victoria-to-New South Wales Interconnector West (VNI West) project, which has faced a backlash from some farmers and landholders along proposed corridors.
Its Western Renewables Link will transmit electricity from western Victorian wind farms and VNI West will connect the link to New South Wales (NSW) Riverina region.
Both will remain AEMO projects under the new framework but the operator has also established Transmission Company Victoria to handle early works and ongoing consultations as project routes are developed and finalised.
The Victorian Farmers Federation said it supported the more co-ordinated approach but feared it failed to address the concerns of farmers and landholders likely to host poles and wires.
“There are gaping policy black holes around fair protection for the rights of landowners and these must be addressed and incorporated into the framework,” said Victorian Farmers Federation president Emma Germano.
The federation wants VNI West and the Western Renewables Link to be brought into the new arrangement.
“These projects must be stopped and taken back to the drawing board and incorporated into the government’s state-wide plan,” Germano said.
The Energy Market Operator says is supportive of the new framework and efforts to secure community support and appropriate social licence.
However, Victoria Energy Policy Centre director Bruce Mountain said VNI West was under-costed and would under-deliver and he hopes VicGrid will take the reins on the existing projects in western Victoria.
“VicGrid promises to be a credible transmission planner and is appropriately accountable,” Mountain told AAP.
“The Australian Energy Market Operator is neither and yet it is holding the reins on the biggest and most controversial transmission project in Victoria’s history.
“There is a cognitive dissonance here that the government of Victoria alone is able to resolve.”
