Officials have called for submissions on the planned Victoria to New South Wales interconnector. 

AEMO Victorian Planning (AVP) and Transgrid want input on the Project Assessment Draft Report (PADR) for the Victoria to New South Wales Interconnector (VNI) West project. Submissions are due by September 9.

VNI West is one of five actionable projects in the 2022 Integrated System Plan (ISP) to help maintain reliability and affordable energy, while supporting Australia’s transition to a net-zero emissions power system and economy.

AVP Group Manager Nicola Falcon says: “We’ve adopted learnings from recent regulatory investment tests, which have reinforced the importance of early, genuine and meaningful engagement with all stakeholders, including communities and landowners”.

“Early engagement has been constructive, with a growing understanding of the role and need for transmission projects, like VNI West, to harness new generation and maintain reliable and affordable energy with 60 per cent of coal generation expected to retire by 2030,” she said.

AVP and Transgrid have been meeting with nine local councils (six in Victoria and three in NSW) related to the proposed VNI West project, to advise about the project, identify potential consultation and communication opportunities, and to understand key priorities, concerns and potential impacts for each area.

In addition, more than 100 stakeholders joined two recent virtual information sessions, covering the need for the project, its context within the transitioning National Electricity Market, and the technical and economic modelling used to assess the validity of the project.

Transgrid CEO Brett Redman says: “While the PADR and the information sessions focused on the technical and economic assessment, AEMO and Transgrid were pleased to receive feedback on other project elements that are not part of the regulatory investment assessment, such as social, environmental and property matters”.

“Where the feedback does not fall within the scope of the regulatory test, it will be retained and tabled for discussion at a future project stage, such as route selection, or project planning and environmental assessment,” he said.