Powerlink reveals Gympie, South Burnett powerline corridors

After 16 months of speculation, Powerlink has revealed the two corridors that will connect the billion dollar Borumba pumped hydro facility to substations at Woolooga and in the South Burnett. Almost 300 properties will be impacted along the 200km of corridors.

Powerlink has revealed the chosen corridors to carry power stored at the Borumba pumped hydro facility in the Mary Valley to substations at Woolooga and in the South Burnett.

Powerlink has announced the recommended high voltage transmission line corridors connecting the pumped hydro Borumba Dam to substations at Woolooga near Gympie, and Halys in the South Burnett. 

The announcement will spell relief for many people across the region, while leaving property owners and stakeholders impacted within the corridors to navigate the next steps of ecological and field studies, land access, compensation, construction and maintenance in the weeks and years to come.

The proposed 4km wide corridors have been whittled down to a 1km wide route to each substation for further consultation and study.

When complete, almost 200 km of transmission lines will run through the regions of South Burnett (97km) and the Mary Valley (83km) from Borumba Dam.

Residents from Gympie attend one of the Powerlink community drop-in sessions on January 18, 2023 at the Gympie Showgrounds.

The final easement however, will be 70m wide and accommodate two new double circuit transmission lines, capable of carrying up to 500 kV (kilovolts) to and from Borumba.

In the past week Powerlink has been contacting and informing impacted property holders and stakeholder groups, and briefing local politicians and councils on the draft corridor selection.

Woolooga substation from Borumba Dam (Woolooga West)

Powerlink has announced a recommended high voltage transmission line connecting Borumba Dam to Woolooga substation. Picture: Supplied

The route to Woolooga from Borumba Dam is proposed to run from Borumba Dam through Yabba State Forest, along the eastern edge of Gallangowan State Forest and then follow the western edge of Wrattens National Park and Oakview National Park joining southeast of Kilkivan to the Ergon Distribution Line ending up at Woolooga substation.

This corridor has the highest percentage of state-owned land, would impact the least number of properties, and have the least impact on national parks, strategic cropping, agriculture land, and intensive land use, Powerlink said in its announcement on Thursday, April 27.

The 88km route will still affect 129 properties, 89ha of intensive land use, with the proportion of 27 per cent of the corridor on state-owned land.

It will impact 0ha of national park and 1545ha of essential habitat.

The Woolooga from Borumba Dam 4km wide transmission lines compared.

“Our goal is to identify the corridor that has the least overall impact from a social, environmental and economic perspective,” Powerlink’s technical and delivery executive general manager Ian Lowry said in the announcement.

“Key themes from the community included investigating the use of state-owned land, avoiding areas of high environmental value, avoiding communities and private properties, and managing biosecurity and agricultural impacts.”

The selected corridor deviates from running through Kingaham Gorge in Yabba State Forest, as an initial option first explored.

Halys substation from Borumba Dam (Central Option A)

Powerlink has announced a recommended high voltage transmission line connecting Borumba Dam to Halys substation. Picture: Supplied

The route from Borumba Dam to Halys is expected to run south before turning west between Kingaham and Jimna. It will then follow the southern edge of Diaper State Forest, East Nanango State Forest, South Nanango State Forest, then circuit around the Tarong substation, keeping south of Tarong State Forest before joining up with the existing transmission lines to Halys substation.

This corridor impacts on a lower number of properties, strategic cropping and intensive land use, Powerlink says.

It has the least overall impact on environmental criteria, including essential habitat and is the shortest corridor length with the opportunity to co-locate with existing transmission lines, Powerlink’s announcement said.

The 105km long route will still affect 164 properties, 25ha of intensive land use, with the proportion of 12 per cent of the corridor on state-owned land.

It will impact 0ha of national park and 681ha of essential habitat.

Halys from Borumba Dam 4 km wide transmission lines compared.

The recommended corridors were the best options to balance the social, environmental and economic perspectives of the region, Mr Lowry said.

The recommended route circuits around the Tarong substation due to the heavy traffic of transmission lines and out of the substation.

The corridors are still in draft form and Powerlink is continuing consultations with impacted stakeholders for a final draft of the 1km corridors due for release in September 2023.

“It’s important to emphasise these recommended corridors are not a final decision. These are draft recommendations, which remain open for community feedback until close of business on 3 July 2023,” Mr Lowry said.

Community reaction to powerline routes

Mardi Brady and Sandra Murray stand outside Ms Murray's house in Kilkivan near Black snake, their properties lie along the 4km Woolooga transmission corridor. Picture: Christine Schindler

News of landholders, farmers and residents needing to saddle the potential transmission network on their land as part of the state’s transition to renewable energy have been met with shock and anxiety.

When Powerlink released proposed transmission corridor routes in November 2022, along with rounds of community consultations and drop-in sessions up until February 2023, residents and property owners started forming action groups, requesting alternative routes, submitting petitions and organising rallies.

Farmers and landholders have expressed their concerns of land devaluation, biosecurity risks and mental anguish from having the huge towers on their property.

Ian Davies is a grazier who has property along the Woolooga transmission line option. Picture: Christine Schindler

Background

Powerlink Queensland is an electricity transmission system operator owned by the state government operating the high-voltage electricity transmission network in Queensland.

Powerlink started community engagement in December 2021 with key stakeholders as plans for the Borumba Pumped Hydro Project were put into motion.

The Borumba Dam Pumped Hydro Project will form the backbone of Queensland’s plan to transition to 50 per cent renewable energy by 2030. Borumba Dam would have a capacity of 2000MW and is expected to power 2 million homes.

Pumped Hydro Storage: How it works. Picture: AREA

As one of the largest pumped hydro projects in the world, Borumba Dam will effectively become a giant rechargeable water battery through pumped hydro, with 24 hours of storage ability.

In order to connect the power from Borumba Dam to the state grid, high voltage transmission lines need to be built along pathways through the Mary Valley to the Woolooga substation.

Another line will be built to the southwest to Halys substation in the South Burnett and provide energy across the regions of southern and central Queensland.

The project is still dependent on final state government approvals and both Queensland Hydro and Powerlink are preparing these reports from various consultations and studies. Identifying the routes of the transmission lines is one part of the process.

Timeline

The announcement of the recommended 1km corridors to Woolooga and Halys from Borumba Dam is another step towards connecting electricity from pumped hydro to Queensland homes by the proposed date of 2031.

Confirmation of the pumped hydro project at Borumba will come after May 2023, while it is currently pencilled in for completion in 2031.

In September 2023, a final 1km wide corridor for the transmission lines will be announced. This will then form the final 70m alignment expected to be released in mid-2024, construction starting in 2025, and operational some time in 2029.

Confirmation of the pumped hydro project at Borumba will come after May 2023, with expected exploratory works starting at the dam site between 2023 and 2025, construction in 2026, and completion pencilled in by 2031.

Originally published as Powerlink reveals Gympie, South Burnett powerline corridors