‘Just absurd' to put turbines here, says O’Brien MP

LITTLE more than a month into the public consultation process for the draft Victorian Transmission Plan, Gippsland South MP Danny O’Brien has called for it to be withdrawn.

And he’s declared it as “just absurd” to be suggesting that wind farms are compatible with “the beautiful rolling green hills, highly productive farmland and a burgeoning tourism industry” of South Gippsland.

In the week that VicGrid was rolling out its community consultation sessions about the plan locally, at Korumburra last Wednesday and Thursday, and at the Foster War Memorial Arts Centre next Thursday, August 15, Mr O’Brien spoke out in State Parliament.

As well as being ridiculous to suggest that this region was ripe for more land-based turbines, Mr O’Brien said it was perplexing why VicGrid, which is tasked with coordinating transmission for new energy developments across the state, is now also seeking to decide where renewable energy developments can occur.

“This whole discussion paper and a map highlighting the best locations for renewable energy facilities is unnecessary and has added to confusion in the community,” Mr O’Brien said this week.

“While I support VicGrid having a role in coordinating transmission, why it should be identifying zones for renewables when this is a job the private sector is already doing is somewhat strange.

“In the context of an already busy development landscape in Gippsland, the process is confusing and unnecessary.”

Mr O'Brien has also called in Parliament for the Government to help coordinate consultation on the bewildering array of new projects being considered at the moment.

“We are being consulted at every turn and virtually every day of the week on 12 proposed offshore wind farms, multiple proposed onshore wind and solar farms, the Marinus Link electricity connection to Tasmania, CarbonNet, the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain pilot project, oil and gas decommissioning in Bass Strait and now VicGrid’s ill-considered Victorian transmission plan.

“There is a lot going on.

“While I don't object to the consultation, it's confusing for the community and I'm asking the State Government to take a leadership role to help coordinate all this consultation.

“This is especially the case with respect to offshore wind which, despite being many different projects, all have virtually the same issues for the community.”

O’Brien in parliament

Here are the ‘Energy infrastructure’ remarks Gippsland South MP Danny O’Brien addressed to the Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D'Ambrosio in State Parliament on Tuesday, August 13.

Danny O’BRIEN (Gippsland South) (19:04): (763) My adjournment item this evening is for the Minister for Energy and Resources, and the action I seek is for the minister to withdraw the draft Victorian transmission plan consultation process that is currently underway via Engage Victoria. This process, while the aims may be laudable in trying to better plan our transition lines, has become confused and confusing for Victorians.

I say this because what VicGrid is now trying to do is ‘investigate further for suitability to host potential future renewable energy zones’. It has released as part of this engagement process a map of the state showing where there are good locations for renewable energy, most particularly solar and wind, and listing them as tier 1, 2 and 3 zones, tier 1 being the most suitable, including in my case parts of South Gippsland, the beautiful rolling green hills, highly productive farmland and a burgeoning tourism industry.

The suggestion that there be wind farms in those areas is just absurd and has caused a considerable amount of community angst and confusion.

This is in the context where the government announced in 2021 that it had established six renewable energy zones, including one in Gippsland, and that one in Gippsland was a very vague map on the government’s website at the time.

It certainly did not include South Gippsland at the time. But the minister said at the time in a media release that this was ‘signalling to developers Victoria is ready for new solar and wind projects’.

Well, what were those projects about back then, three years ago, that we now have to have a new transmission plan that looks at entirely different areas?

This is of great concern to my community and I am sure many communities across the state. If you look at western Victoria, virtually the entire part of western Victoria is a renewable energy zone.

At the moment it is also confusing because in Gippsland we have offshore wind, we have CarbonNet, we have Marinus Link, we have onshore wind developments and we have proposed onshore solar farms, and the community is being consulted to death. I do not say that they should not be talking to us, but this plan is just causing confusion. It is causing unnecessary angst, and there is no point.

VicGrid is meant to be planning transmission, not telling the developers where good spots are for wind and solar or any other renewable energy. That is not what the government should be doing.

It should be letting developers do that work and plan the transmission lines accordingly. This is just a ridiculous piece of work that has been put out in our communities. It is causing confusion, and it is causing angst in our communities, and the minister should withdraw it.