Power

It was a packed house at the Moulamein Recreation Reserve as community members from across the region gathered for the landholder information session on the proposed 500 kilovolt double circuit transmission line ... It was fantastic to see a town hall meeting ... the ultimate ‘pub test’.

Jenny Pollard. A crowd in excess of 100 people turned out for the Transmission Company Victoria (TCV) information meeting held at Charlton Park last Wednesday evening. TCV is a recently formed company tasked with the "early works" stage of planning the Victorian section of the Victoria to New South Wales Interconnector West (VNI West) transmission line project.

The Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) has expressed concerns about misleading information being provided to farmers who may be impacted by the proposed VNI-West transmission project. VFF President Emma Germano said the Australian Energy Market Operator (which is planning the project on behalf of the Victorian Government) had released information to landholders designed to pressure them into signing away access to their land.

The decision by the Federal Government to establish a Community Engagement Review to maximise engagement around electricity transmission and renewable energy developments has been welcomed by GrainGrowers as a positive step forward ... Mr Turton said the GrainGrowers National Policy Group had recently considered the issue of agricultural land use and had called for meaningful engagements with landholders and communities about proposed development sites.

The Kerang Memorial Hall was a flurry of activity at Tuesday’s VNI West Information Sessions ... From landholder engagement to environmental concerns, aboriginal cultural heritage, and even local, George Warne, was there as Transmission Company Victoria’s (TCV) agricultural advisor.

A group of very concerned East Greenmount residents is banding together in an effort to put a halt to plans to construct a series of wind turbines along the escarpment at Ramsay and East Greenmount. The group of residents, who do not wish to be named, met with local Member for Condamine and Shadow Energy Minister Pat Weir on Monday to discuss what the best options moving forward are to have the project stopped.

NSW Farmers has welcomed a Parliamentary Inquiry into undergrounding powerlines, calling it a win for common sense and community safety. Multiple renewable energy projects proposed or under construction in regional areas would require new power lines to connect them to the grid, Energy Transition Working Group chair Reg Kidd said, but too often landholders were being ignored by the big developers.

The farmers invited by Member for Mallee, Dr. Anne Webster, met with the Nationals leader David Littleproud, shadow ministers and senators, with Dr. Webster saying Mallee communities were being railroaded into accepting the $3.3 billion VNI West project. "I am deeply concerned for the region and fear Labor is railroading the community over thousands of kilometres of prime farmland and irrigation districts for a project that will have an enormous cost blow-out and detrimental consequences," Dr. Webster said.

Haystacks Solar Garden members who purchased a solar garden plot have now voted an overwhelimg ‘yes’ to loaning $730,800 to Grong Grong Solar Farm - hosts of the Haystacks Solar Garden - to help construct the much anticipated 1.5MW solar array. The project has been three years in the making to get to this point navigating a pandemic, two energy price crises and innovating every step of the way in the Australian energy system to create something that has never been done before in our nation.

Dozens of concerned farmers have descended on Canberra, urging Federal Labor to rethink its plan to build hundreds of kilometres of poles and wires through regional Victoria. The farmers met with The Nationals leader David Littleproud and Federal Member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster, who echoed the group’s concerns.

“For the last four years, the VFF has consistently called for a coordinated approach to transmission infrastructure planning. The government has heeded our call and taken some action in formulating the Victorian Transmission Investment Framework. Disappointingly however, the framework continues to neglect farmer concerns. It does not speak about agricultural land use and the impact on food and fibre production”: VFF President Emma Germano.

Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D’Ambrosio has launched the Victorian Transmission Investment Framework (VTIF) ... The Victorian Government body, VicGrid, will lead transmission project planning and development, and ensure local communities, landholders, Traditional Owners and other key stakeholders are consulted on these major projects from start to finish.

The Victorian Government has taken another step to accelerate the Victoria-New South Wales Interconnector West (VNI West) project at the expense of Mallee landholders. "State Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio has used her powers to order the Australian Energy Market Operator AEMO to proceed with another new preferred route for the project, Option 5A, following weeks of tokenistic and rushed consultation that has frustrated concerned farmers and communities," says Member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster.

Gannawarra Shire Council has welcomed a proposed realignment of the VNI West route, which would involve constructing new high capacity electricity transmission lines that will pass through the Gannawarra ... “Council, along with the Murray River Group of Councils, has been advocating for VNI West to pass through the Gannawarra, and we have been promoting the benefits of these works to our residents for the past six years,” Mayor Charlie Gillingham said.

As government policies lead to soaring energy prices, the Victorian Government is changing the preferred route and accelerating works on the 500 kilovolt double-circuit overhead transmission line between Victoria and New South Wales ... According to the AEMO report, councils have indicated there is a broader social licence for VNI West crossing the Murray River north of Kerang (option 5a) instead of the Echuca route, and therefore more likelihood of timely implementation.  

Dear Sir, Despite AEMO’s best efforts to tick the box and grant a submission extension period, that hidden in the fine print was the extension was only for VFF members, AEMO closed their submission on the 5.4.2023 and then gave a selective extension of 13 days ... Quit horsing around AEMO. It is time for ANSWERS!

Northern Grampians Shire Council is appalled that widespread community opposition has had no material impact on Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) final recommended alignment for the controversial VNI West power transmission project ... “Landowners need clear and concise answers to the questions they have asked and not simply to refer them to some other arrangement as a reference to how it might work here": Mayor, Cr Kevin Erwin.