The Australian Energy Market Operator has announced a two year delay in the completion of one of its key transmission projects, in a new blow to wind and solar projects in the region, and potentially to the pace of the renewable energy transition in Australia.
AEMO says the $3.2 billion VNI West transmission project, adding a new link between Victoria and NSW, will now not be completed until 2030 instead of the most recent timeline of 2028.
VNI West has been a controversial project as it seeks to finalise a route across the Victorian countryside, but it is considered vital to unlocking multiple gigawatts of new wind and solar capacity, and to boost the state’s security as it prepares to close down its remaining coal fired generators and meet its 2035 target of 95 per cent renewables.
The delay adds to the growing problems around key transmission projects in Australia – the backbone of AEMO’s Integrated System Plan, which in turn underpins the federal government target of reaching 82 per cent renewables by 2030.
Cost blow outs and delays have impacted a number of key projects, including Project EnergyConnect linking South Australia to NSW, the Marinus Link from Tasmania to Victoria, Humelink from NSW to near the Victoria border, and the Copperstring project in north Queensland, among others.
The latest delay was announced by Transmission Company Victoria, which was set up by AEMO to oversee the project – although responsibility for delivery will soon be assumed by the newly created VicGrid.
“(TCV) has today advised landholders that the expected completion date for the VNI West transmission project is shifting from 2028 to late 2030,” the company said in a statement.
Spokesperson Claire Cass said the delay is the result of revised planning, design and construction assumptions, and comes as the company gets ready to reveal its latest offer over easements and payments to landowners.
“The new construction completion target allows more time for detailed environmental, geotechnical and cultural assessments, along with more meaningful landholder engagement on access and easement arrangements,” Cass said in a statement.
“We know this updated timeline may be frustrating, but we’re committed to working with landholders respectfully and providing the support they need to consider what is best for them, their properties, and farming or business operations.
“While the timeline has shifted, the critical purpose of VNI West remains the same – to deliver the infrastructure needed to keep Victoria’s lights on, and help put downward pressure on electricity prices.”
The news follows the recent announced delay of the Western Renewables Link, that will feed into VNI West, although the TCV announcement does not affect the NSW part of the project that feeds into Project EnergyConnect.
- The VNI West link, costed at around $3.2 billion, is a double-circuit 500 kV line that is expected to unlock around 3.4 GW of new renewable generation in the Murray River and the Western Victorian renewable energy zones, and boost export capacity from Victoria by nearly 2 GW.
It is also expected to boost the carrying capacity for wind, solar and storage projects in the south-west of NSW, which have already been impacted by a miscalculation on the transmission needs for the area, meaning most of the projects in the newly created south-west REZ of NSW will not be able to connect to the grid.
TCV says that it releasing a new easement and access package, and is seeking meetings with landholders within the project easement compensation, project benefit payments, and field survey access terms.
“For the first time, landholders will receive detailed information about the project benefit payments they can receive, indicative property-specific impact compensation and field survey access terms,” Cass said in the statement.
The transmission link development has been controversial and farmers have previously complained that communication has been poor and that their concerns had been ignored.
In August 2023, scores of tractors, utes and trucks rolled in to Melbourne to protest both the VNI West and the Western Renewables links, which both meet at a new terminal station in Bulgana in central western Victoria.
VicGrid last week outlined a new proposal to make offers of up to $40,000 to “near neighbours” of the transmission projects in an effort to soothe anger in the local communities.
In May, the Gannawarra, Northern Grampians and Buloke shire council publicly said they were opposed to VNI West partly on the grounds that they couldn’t see any benefits to their communities for hosting it.
