New report supports underground transmission lines

SUPPORT is growing locally for the adoption of underground transmission lines to connect Gippsland’s offshore wind energy industry to the national power grid.

Better Transmission Gippsland claims a report commissioned by Star of the South shows why Victoria must properly compare underground HVDC transmission with the current overhead transmission lines proposed for future offshore wind energy.

HVDC underground transmission lines have already been adopted by Marinus Link to connect 90 km of high voltage direct current (DC) underground cables between Sandy Point and a terminal station at Hazelwood in the Latrobe Valley.

The Marinus Link project also includes fibre optic cables, a communications station and converter stations spanning 345 kilometres, including 255 km of undersea cable across Bass Strait from Heybridge in Tasmania to Hazelwood in the Latrobe Valley.

According to Better Transmission Gippsland (BTG), a specialist engineering firm, Jacobs found Gippsland offshore wind could reduce the need for more transmission across the wider grid, lowering transmission costs and reducing overall power system costs.

Chair Kirra Bott said this is what BTG had been saying from the start.

“Cost of living impacts matter, it says landholder impacts matter,” said Ms Bott.

“Transmission shouldn’t be judged only on what is cheapest to build now. It should be judged on what makes most sense for the long term.”

Better Transmission Gippsland (BTG) said the report shows the real cost of transmission goes well beyond construction and includes reliability, future expansion, land access, community impact and delay.

“This is why Victoria cannot push ahead with a large overhead transmission proposal in Gippsland until it has properly compared it with underground HVDC,” Ms Bott said.

“If Victoria gets this wrong now, we will all end up paying for it later through more disruption, more conflict, more delay and more cost.”

BTG said the report does not directly compare underground HVDC with the current overhead proposal in Gippsland, but it clearly shows that smart transmission planning saves money over time, while poor planning creates extra costs later.

“The lesson here is simple,” Ms Bott said.

“What costs more at the start doesn’t always cost more in the long run. We’ve all had experiences where spending more at the start has avoided much higher costs later.

“If less transmission across the wider grid can lower costs, then the transmission that still needs to be built should be built in the smartest and least harmful way possible.

That’s why the Gippsland connection should be built for the long term, not just for the lowest upfront price,” Ms Bott said.

“This isn’t minor infrastructure; this is part of Victoria’s future energy backbone and backbone infrastructure.

“It should be built to backbone standard, not the cheapest upfront price.”

Better Transmission Gippsland said that includes properly valuing the savings underground HVDC could bring by reducing disruption, conflict and future costs.

“The government shouldn’t just be waving through the cheapest visible option and hoping for the best,” she said. “It should properly compare underground HVDC with overhead lines using the full picture of cost, reliability, landholder impact, community impact and future needs.

“The Gippsland community has every right to expect better planning than this for infrastructure of this scale. The government cannot keep defaulting to the cheapest visible option on infrastructure this important. That’s what proper planning looks like.”

According to Ms Bott, this is a once-only opportunity to get it right, because the long-term cost of getting it wrong will be felt by all Victorians.

“If this project is important enough to help power Victoria after coal, it’s important enough to build properly.”

BTG said the current overhead proposal would impose a more visible, more disruptive and more divisive form of transmission on Gippsland without first properly testing the underground alternative.