Just as Transgrid has announced an expansion of the preferred corridor, an ‘Explosive’ energy report exposes serious flaws in the $20 billion Rewiring the Nation plan.

Australia is on the verge of an energy crisis as politicians continue to close down traditional baseline power sources for the green dream. To enable this green dream, an upgraded power grid is required as power generation is moved from concentrated locations to a tapestry of sites covering the environment up and down the east coast of the country.

Companies such as Transgrid (NSW leg) and TCV (Victorian leg) have been tasked by governments to build a 500kV overhead power line network. In our neck of the woods, the 70m-high towers will form part of the Victorian New South Wales Interconnector, VNI West. 

Objectors to the proposal point to the serious impacts to agricultural operations, tourism, environment, cultural heritage and even fire risk as areas of concern. 

Last week, Transgrid announced they were widening their draft corridor from 15 to 24 kilometres after receiving community feedback. 

Project Director, Colin Mayer, said, “We have undertaken extensive engagement with locals through community information days, individual meetings with landowners and in written submissions, following our extended consultation period for the Draft Corridor Report.

“This information has helped inform our planning and we have amended the VNI West corridor in a number of locations in direct response to landowner feedback and we have already begun reaching out to them to discuss this latest stage of the project,” said Mr Mayer.

“We recognise the complexity of constraints in the local environment, including agricultural land use, cultural heritage and biodiversity in the region. By expanding the corridor to the north, there are now more opportunities to exclude any sensitive river systems and irrigation land and respond to suggestions raised during the recent consultation,” he said.

While those tasked with building the overhead lines push ahead, the new report by respected Australian engineering consultancy, Amplitude Consultants, was ‘explosive’ because it found more than $4 billion worth of savings and uncovered significant shortcomings in previous cost estimates around undergrounding for one of the country’s largest transmission projects, the proposed 360km HumeLink line from the Snowy to the southern tablelands region of NSW.

“This report makes a complete nonsense of claims that undergrounding is too expensive and will add significant costs to energy consumers,” Rethink HumeLink spokesperson, Michael Katz said. 

“What isn’t in dispute is that the overhead proposal will rip through habitats of endangered species, increases bushfire risks and jeopardise lives and local industries.

“It is now time for the Government to rethink Rewiring the Nation and implement undergrounding as a default like other countries such as Germany. Then we can get on with the job of making renewable energy a reality in this country – with community support.”

The new report, HumeLink Undergrounding – Review of Transgrid Report and Costing for HVDC Alternatives, was delivered to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen on Monday during a peaceful protest in Sydney, attended by community groups and volunteer firefighters. 

Rural Fire Service captain, Bill Kingwill said he was attending the protest in the hope that he and many other volunteers didn’t have to quit the service because of the flawed Rewiring the Nation program.

“I don’t think politicians or regulators understand just how dangerous these lines become when they are arcing in bad fire conditions,” Mr Kingwill said. “I’ve seen it firsthand. It’s one flash and you’re ash. Bad policy just isn’t worth dying for.”

The new Amplitude report shows that on a like-for-like basis, HumeLink could be undergrounded for $7.3 billion. Transgrid has previously claimed that undergrounding would be 57.5 per cent higher in costs at $11.5 billion.

The report also identified an even cheaper underground option, which Transgrid itself advised the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) was “credible”, that could be delivered for $5.5 billion – almost no additional cost, but with long-term environmental and OpEx cost benefits.

The report also suggests an underground HumeLink could be completed by August 2029, aligning with the timing needed to connect Snowy 2.0 to the grid and in line with the optimal timing identified by AEMO.

For the updated VNI West Draft Corridor, head to the Transgrid website to find the VNI West Interactive Map.

This article appeared in The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, 12 October 2023.