Council has expressed concern at the overhead transmission lines proposed as part of the Victoria – New South Wales Interconnector (VNI) West project.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) and Transgrid released a Project Assessment Conclusions Report (PACR) into the VNI West project on 27 May 2023.

Council has welcomed some aspects and expressed concern about other conclusions outlined in the report. Council is also concerned about the impacts of new options on other regional communities that were previously not affected by the VNI West project. Read Council's latest media release from 30 May 2023.

Council made a strong submission on the consultation report in April 2023. See the submission in the Document Library.

VNI West is a proposed new high capacity 500 kilovolt (kV) double-circuit overhead transmission line between Victoria and New South Wales. The project originally included a transmission line from Kerang in northern Victoria to a proposed terminal station in Hepburn Shire at Mount Prospect, planned for construction as part of the Western Renewables Link. The preferred site for the terminal station is now identified at Bulgana in Northern Grampians Shire.

Transmissions Victoria has launched a new website in May 2023 with a number of resources, including an interactive map for communities, farmers and Traditional Owners to mark significant sites, landmarks and areas of specific land use within the VNI West proposed route.

AEMO and Transgrid’s PACR, including a report summary and other documents are available to read in the Links section and Document Library on this page or on AEMO's website.

Key points of the report

• Mount Prospect is no longer the preferred option for a terminal station.
• The proposed route of the transmission lines remains largely unchanged.
• The report recommends an increase in the overhead power lines from 220kV (kilovolt) to 500kV through our Shire. This requires significantly larger towers and exclusion zones which limits agricultural uses along the transmission route.
• Undergrounding of power lines has not been considered.

Online information sessions

Australian Energy Market Operator Victorian Planning (AVP) and Transgrid hosted information sessions in March 2023. The purpose of these sessions was to further describe the project that will assist stakeholders and community in making informed submissions on the report.

Watch a recording of the webinar on AEMO Energy's YouTube channel.

As part of the consultation AEMO produced this fact sheet on Farming and transmission in March 2023. There is also a summary of questions and answers from the webinars in our Document Library on this page.

You can read about AEMO's stakeholder consultation plans on their website.

Council has make a strong submission to AEMO and Translink regarding the latest consultation report. This submission is available in the Document Library.

We also outlined our position in our media releases in the Links section.

Council is highly supportive of renewable energy and is pleased to see the terminal station proposed for Mount Prospect in Hepburn Shire is no longer the preferred option. While we recognise significant efforts have been made to improve the project, overall we believe there is potential to do better.

Our main concerns about other conclusions outlined in the report are:

• The largely unchanged power line route.
• The significantly larger towers recommended in the report which will have an even greater impact on our important landscapes, farming and the community.
• That the report does not further consider the undergrounding of power.

We will await updates from AusNet on the impact the proposed changes to VNI West will have on the Western Renewables Link (WRL) in terms of route, timing and engagement.

Read more about what Council is doing towards the Western Renewables Link (formerly the Western Victorian Transmission Network project).

VNI West is a proposed new high capacity 500 kilovolt (kV) double-circuit overhead transmission line between Victoria and New South Wales. The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) announced the release of the Regulatory Investment Test (RIT-T) for Infrastructure for the project on Friday 29 July 2022.

The project will include a transmission line from Kerang in northern Victoria to a proposed terminal station (originally identified at Mount Prospect in Hepburn Shire but now the preferred site is at Bulgana in the Northern Grampians Shire) to be constructed as part of the Western Renewables Link.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) 2022 Integrated System Plan identifies VNI West as an actionable project to be progressed urgently. The project is currently estimated to cost $3.256 billion.

AEMO has engaged early with Council about its planning for the project and has been advised by Council that proper consultation needs to be undertaken with the Hepburn community.

The prospect of 500kV overhead transmission lines bisecting the shire is of great concern to the Council and Hepburn community.

Planners of major infrastructure projects should ensure they secure appropriate social licence by addressing the environmental, social and economic implications for communities early in project development.