Arabic version: فيكتوريا تأمر بمراجعة تكاليف مشروع وصلة الطاقة المتجددة الغربية

According to ABC News, Victorian Premier Ben Carroll has ordered an immediate, independent cost assessment of the Western Renewables Link after Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny approved the project’s Environment Effects Statement. Carroll said the review was intended to reduce construction costs and that no property would be compulsorily acquired while it was underway.

The proposed $1.5 billion transmission line would run 190 kilometres from Bulgana, near Ararat, to Sydenham in Melbourne’s north-west. It is intended to connect renewable energy projects in western Victoria to the grid. The latest project estimate is more than three times the initial 2019 figure, while AusNet has said completion is expected by 2029.

Kilkenny found the project was likely to significantly affect visual amenity and landscape values, but concluded its potential community benefits meant it could proceed and environmental harm could be managed. The EES is not final approval: Carroll said further state and Commonwealth agency approvals, as well as parliamentary approval, are still required. He said the assessment would be completed by the end of the year and made public.

The project has faced sustained opposition from landholders in its corridor. Ripon Labor MP Martha Haylett said it did not have social licence in her community. Victorian Farmers Federation president Ryan Milgate welcomed the review and called for broader scrutiny of transmission projects, including VNI West. AusNet said the link would support Victoria’s transition from coal-fired power, carry more than 3,000 megawatts through 500-kilovolt lines, help power 1 million homes and, if approved, generate about 700 full-time construction jobs.