Transmission “legacy:” State launches CopperString community benefits fund

The Queensland Liberal-National government announced this week that it would deliver $50 million in what it called “legacy projects” to communities located along the route of the planned CopperString transmission link, including priority housing, water, and other local infrastructure projects.

The $50 million Community Benefits Fund was announced on Tuesday morning by Queensland’s treasurer and minister for energy, David Janetzki, who is this week travelling the CopperString corridor from Townsville to Mount Isa.

The Fund will provide support for a number of key projects in Townsville, Charters Towers, Flinders Shire, Richmond, Julia Creek, Cloncurry, and Mount Isa, including $4.285 million for critical local infrastructure projects that support the $225 million Flinders Substation and Hughenden Hub.

Further, an initial $1 million will be used to support detailed design and cost analyses for critical water and sewerage infrastructure projects.

Little else was said by the government in its announcement – leaving more room to lambast the previous Labor government – but the new investment is part of the $2.4 billion that the Queensland government has set aside for CopperString in this year’s budget.

“We included a record investment in this year’s Budget to ensure affordable, reliable and sustainable energy through the delivery of this project,” said Janetzki.

“This is real money to build the transmission line and real investment in the economic growth of our State.”  

CopperString, now dubbed CopperString 2032 to hint at its initial completion date, is a planned transmission link being built to connect Queensland’s North and North West to the National Electricity Market (NEM) for the first time in Australia’s history.

It was scaled back by the Queensland state LNP government in October of last year due to cost blowouts that saw the original price tag of $1.8 billion explode out to $13.6 billion.

The Eastern Link section of CopperString, running from Hughenden to Townsville, is set to be completed by 2032 and is therefore being prioritised by the current government.

It will consist of a 330 kV link, scaled back from a 500 kV link proposed by the Labor government, and is expected to spur new generation and storage investment in North and North West Queensland to help meet future demand in the region and across the state.

When completed, the Eastern Link is expected to support a transfer capacity of 1.7-gigawatts (GW) and 2.9 GW hosting capacity.

Construction is currently on track to begin in 2028.

A $200 million fund North West Energy Fund will supposedly support “bespoke solutions” to support communities including Mount Isa, Cloncurry, Julia Creek, and Richmond.