Powerlink Queensland, Media Release, 28 April 2023

Powerlink is seeking community feedback on two recommended corridors for proposed new transmission line connections in the Gympie, Somerset and South Burnett regions.

Powerlink’s Draft Corridor Selection Report (CSR) has been released publicly and provides detailed analysis of a number of corridor options against social, environmental and economic criteria. Importantly, landholder and community feedback helped shape the criteria used to determine the recommended corridors.

In comparing all corridor options, the report highlights two of the original four kilometre-wide corridors as having the least overall impact across key criteria, then goes on to recommend a one kilometre-wide corridor within each.

The recommended corridors are in the Woolooga West corridor heading north from the Borumba Pumped Hydro Project site to Woolooga, and the Halys Central (Option A) Corridor heading south-west to Halys. These corridors are now open for feedback and comment from landholders and the wider community.

Woolooga West corridor

The Woolooga West corridor provides the best balance from social, environmental and economic perspectives when compared to the other 4km-wide corridor options. It has the lowest impact on social objectives, including number of properties and impacts on strategic cropping and intensive land use.

The Woolooga West corridor also provides the greatest opportunity for the use of state-owned land. While it does not reflect the shortest line length, there is a lower portion of steep terrain and a greater ability to avoid highly sensitive areas within National Parks.

To summarise, this corridor:

• Has the highest percentage of State-owned land
• Impacts on the least number of properties, in particular those less than five hectares in size
• Has the least impact on National Parks, which are able to be avoided through refinement to a 1km-wide corridor
• Has the least impact on strategic cropping and agricultural land
• Has the least impact on intensive land use (such as feedlots etc.).

Halys Central (Option A) corridor

The Halys Central (Option A) corridor has the least overall impact across social, environment and economic perspectives when compared to the other 4km-wide corridor options. This corridor has the lowest impact on social objectives, at a similar level to the Halys North corridor options. It includes opportunities to use State-owned land and also limits impacts on the number, size and use of properties.

This corridor generally has the least overall impact on environmental criteria including essential habitat, with impacts on National Parks able to be avoided through refinement to a 1km-wide corridor. The Halys Central (Option A) corridor is also the shortest of those assessed, providing the ability to co-locate with existing Powerlink transmission lines around Tarong Power Station and Halys Substation.

To summarise, this corridor:

• Impacts on a lower number of properties, strategic cropping and intensive land use (such as feedlots etc.)
• Has the least overall impact environmental criteria, including essential habitat, with higher impacts on National Parks able to be avoided through refinement to a 1km-wide corridor.
• Is the shortest corridor length, with the opportunity to co-locate with existing transmission lines.

Powerlink Executive General Manager Delivery and Technical Solutions Ian Lowry said under State and Federal Government planning and approval frameworks a wide range of criteria must be considered, influenced by stakeholder feedback, in determining the recommended corridors.

“Our goal is to identify the corridor that has the least overall impact from a social, environmental and economic perspective,” Mr Lowry said.

“Key themes from the community included investigating the use of State-owned land, avoiding areas of high environmental value, avoiding communities and private properties, and managing biosecurity and agricultural impacts.

“We believe the recommended corridors balance all of these important considerations.

“There has been community feedback asking us to consider using National Parks to increase use of State-owned land. National Parks are special places dedicated to protecting and conserving outstanding examples of Queensland’s natural environment and cultural heritage. An important part of our planning approach is to avoid impacting on these conserved areas wherever possible.”

Mr Lowry said Powerlink had been engaging with stakeholders and the wider community on the proposed transmission lines since mid-2022, and engagement would continue for some time to come.

“Since July 2022, Powerlink has hosted 33 community information drop-in sessions and received close to 2,000 individual pieces of feedback. This significant amount of landholder and community feedback helped shape the criteria we used to determine the recommended corridors,” Mr Lowry said.

“It’s important to emphasise these recommended corridors are not a final decision. These are draft recommendations, which remain open for community feedback until close of business on 3 July 2023.

“We will also be back out in the local area hosting more community information drop-in sessions in late May and early June to meet with landholders, brief other stakeholders and gain feedback from the wider community on the recommended corridors.

“A 1km-wide corridor will be finalised as part of the Final CSR, due for release in September 2023. We will then work with landholders to identify a 70-metre easement being the final alignment for the new transmission line based on their direct feedback and input on how they manage their properties and land. From there we then continue progressing with further approvals required prior to construction starting in late 2025.”

To access a copy of the Draft CSR documents, comment on interactive mapping, provide your feedback, get details on our upcoming community information drop-in sessions, and obtain more general information about the project, visit www.powerlink.com.au/borumbatransmission.