VicGrid has released its Victorian Transmission Plan, which outlines details for six renewable energy zones where wind and solar projects and batteries for storage should be built, and the new powerlines required to connect it all.
VicGrid’s report suggested the transmission plan could see wholesale electricity prices fall, lowering bills for households and businesses by $20-$50 respectively.
This suggestion was kiboshed by the director of the Victoria Energy Policy Centre at Victoria University and well-known energy economist Bruce Mountain.
He accused the Victorian Government of using “sleight of hand” tactics to disguise the true cost of the plan, which he estimated could amount to $28 billion over the next decade.
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“They are only including a very small subset of the transmission expansion plan that they have set out and they’ve done that by simply relegating the vast bulk of the expenditure into what they call the base case,” Prof Mountain said.
“I think the government is petrified of the actual outlays that their plan entail.”
He said households and businesses would likely face higher bills over the next decade.
“It might well be that if the government proceeds with this plan, customers will simply find it unaffordable and so then taxpayers will be forced to bear some large part of it.”
Conversely, renewable energy advocacy groups The Clean Energy Council and The Renewable Energy Alliance welcomed the plan.
“The Clean Energy Council welcomes VicGrid’s proposed amendments to the final Victorian Transmission Plan as an important step towards boosting industry and community confidence in the state’s energy transition,” Clean Energy Council general manager advocacy and investment Anna Freeman said.
“This plan provides a greater degree of clarity about the development of Victoria’s grid over the next 15 years in alignment with anticipated energy demand and the deployment of more onshore renewable generation and storage.
“We welcome the announcement of six onshore Renewable Energy Zones (REZs) and one shoreline REZ, which include a moderate expansion in the proposed footprint of these clean energy regions. While these REZs account for approximately 7.9% of Victoria’s total land area, the total footprint of development is expected to comprise less than 1%.
“An important complement to this plan will be the treatment of clean energy projects that are located outside of the REZs, and we look forward to further detail from VicGrid in coming weeks about the proposed requirements that will apply to these projects for connecting to the transmission network through the Grid Impact Assessment process.”
The Renewable Energy Alliance (RE-Alliance) said the plan was an important step forward for certainty and clarity.
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“Victorian communities have been calling for a clear plan and now we have it. It gives clarity for where we’re going to build the renewable energy we need to replace coal, and how we’re going to connect it into the electricity grid,” said RE-Alliance national director Andrew Bray said.
Bray said as Victoria prepares to close the Yallourn coal-fired power station, the plan’s increased urgency around the delivery of key transmission infrastructure projects like Western Renewables Link by 2028 and VNI West by the early 2030s is welcome, as is certainty on the amount of land required for wind, solar and battery projects in renewable energy zones.
“Communities now have a clear picture on the 1% of land required to host physical infrastructure like solar farms, wind turbines and roads, and where and when the power lines need to be built,” he said.
“Now the hard work comes to build public trust for the change ahead and to back in regional capacity to deliver that change.”
