New line to link NSW, SA power: NSW powers ahead with Energy Connect power line, promising savings
The NSW government has given planning approval for the first stage of the 900-km Energy Connect transmission line that is aimed at shaving $180m a year of power bills.
NSW’s and South Australia’s electricity grids will be connected for the first time after the Berejiklian government approved stage one of a new long-awaited $2.3bn transmission line that will create cheaper, more reliable power, saving consumers almost $200m year.
Construction on the two stage 900km transmission link – known as Energy Connect, which is being developed by TransGrid and South Australia‘s ElectraNet – will finally begin, feeding more renewable energy into the states’ power grids.
It comes as NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian unveiled a 50 per cent by 2030 emissions reduction target, raising pressure on Scott Morrison to increase Australia’s climate ambition ahead of the Glasgow conference in November.
The first stage of Energy Connect will connect NSW, from the Buronga substation in the state’s south-west, to South Australia. It will also include a spur line to Red Cliffs in Victoria and create 600 construction jobs.
It is seen as a critical link for NSW when old coal plants in the state retire by allowing cheap renewables to be imported from South Australia, avoiding big jumps in wholesale electricity prices.
It is anticipated that when completed, the project – which will run Wagga Wagga to Robertstown in SA – will shave about $180m a year off NSW resident’s energy bills.
“The interconnector is one of the largest projects ever proposed in the National Electricity Market and it will facilitate Australia’s energy transition, bringing a reduction in carbon emissions and helping the nation meet its climate change targets,” TransGrid’s Acting CEO Brian Salter said.
Transgrid’s Energy Connect project director Evonne Bennett said the line was designed to act as an “enabler” to enhance the capacity of NSW’s energy network, as well as boost Snowy 2.0 when it begins production.
“When Snowy 2.0 comes online, when it is supplying energy to the market, it enhances the capacity to provide energy to South Australia, Victoria through this line, as well as those solar farms to provide their energy back to Snowy for the pump – because it‘s a pumped hydro – to pump water up to the top of the dams for when it’s ready for to then generate electricity,” Ms Bennett said.
“So, both the demand and the supply of energy.”
NSW Planning and Public Spaces Minister Rob Stokes said it was the “largest energy transmission project undertaken in Australia in more than 30 years” and will support the state’s plan to halve its emissions by the end of the decade.
“To get to a low-emissions energy system our nation needs robust and reliable transmission infrastructure and that’s why we declared Energy Connect Critical State Significant Infrastructure in 2019 because it will be a fundamental part of Australia’s energy future,” Mr Stokes said.
Meanwhile NSW Energy and Environment Minister Matt Kean said the project would “accelerate progress under the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap”.
“The Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap is our plan to replace our ageing electricity infrastructure and secure NSW’s future as a clean energy superpower,” Mr Kean said.
“This approval will help to unlock transmission constraints in southern NSW and help to open up the South-West Renewable Energy Zone.
“The South-West Renewable Energy Zone will drive jobs and investment into regional NSW, and help to provide our households and businesses with some of the cheapest, cleanest electricity anywhere in the world.”
Stage one will now be referred to the Federal Government for approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, before construction is expected to begin next year.
Stage two will involve the development of the 540-kilometre eastern section between Buronga and Wagga Wagga and will be subject to a separate development application. The overall project is expected to be operational by 2024.
It comes after the Morrison government this week provided $180m in underwriting support to enable the EnergyConnect project to be built at a larger capacity. The upgrade of a key section of the project from south of Coleambally to Wagga Wagga will “future-proof” the transmission network by integrating more low-cost, zero-carbon renewable energy into the grid.
It will also remove the need for duplicate lines to be built for the Victoria-NSW interconnector, known as VNI West.
“Our $181m support for this line upgrade builds on a $250m program, announced in the 2020-21 project to support key projects including VNI West, Tasmania’s Marinus Link, and EnergyConnect, which has already been able to reach final investment decision thanks to government support,” the federal Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor said.
“Investments in projects like this one will help to unlock reliable electricity supply like Snowy 2.0, deliver substantial cost savings, minimise landholder impacts and help keep the lights on and prices low.”
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