Latest news with #VNIWest
Sky News AU
2 days ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
‘No surprise to anybody': $4b project delay another hit to government's green ambition
The Australian's Environment Editor Graham Lloyd has weighed in on the two-year delay for the $4 billion Victoria–New South Wales power project. VNI West, a 240-kilometre transmission line to connect Victoria and New South Wales, will be pushed back, which is a major hit to the nation's renewable energy goals. 'It should be no surprise to anybody,' Mr Lloyd told Sky News host Steve Price. 'It's another reminder that it's a lot easier to put these things down on paper than it is to produce them in reality.'
Herald Sun
3 days ago
- Business
- Herald Sun
VNI West powerline deal: TCV offers farmers $460,000 a km
A slowdown in the rollout of Victoria's 500kV VNI West transmission line, has prompted its proponent to offer landholders an extra $460,000 to sign easement deals. Transmission Company Victotria has already offered up to $50,000 in sign-on bonuses, which comes on top of an annual state government contribution of $8000 per kilometre of the line built across landholders properties for the next 25 years. TCV confirmed this week it had not signed any easement agreements with the 220 landholders along the proposed VNI West route. Most landholders have refused to budge, prompting the government to draft legislation imposing penalties of up $12,210 for anyone landholder who tries to block transmission The Weekly Times understands TCV is desperate to avoid seeing footage of farmers being arrested on the evening news and has come up with a plan to boost landholder payments. Sutherland farmer Barry Batters, who has about 4kms of the proposed VNI West line crossing his property, said landholders were 'willing to be arrested' in their bid to stop TCV accessing their land. Such resistance has pushed TCV into upping its offer, recently briefing the VNI West Community Reference Group on a new '$46,000 per hectare landholder benefit payment', which it developed in response to feedback that 'compensation alone was not a benefit'. The payment equates to $460,000/km on a 100m-wide transmission easement traversing a farm and comes on top of the government's $200,000 over 25 years, plus statutory payments made under the Land Acquisition and Compensation Act. Of the $46,000/ha, 20 per cent is paid upfront when the establishment and access deed are signed, then another 20 per cent when the option for easement is signed. However TCV has failed to brief farmers on the tax treatment of the payments, which if defined as off-farm income could be taxed at 45 cents in the dollar. Farmers are still sceptical as to how successful the new payment will be in getting landholders to sign up to easement agreements. Dooboobetic grain grower and harvest contractor James Burke, who faces 9km of the proposed VNI West line being built across the family's 3600ha property, said the additional $46,000/ha payment would make 'zero difference' to those opposing the project. 'I don't believe people understand what it's going to do,' Mr Burke said. 'We can't operate the latest John Deere harvesters under it, and they're getting bigger every year.' 'It'll ruin some of the best dirt in Victoria - the Gooroc Plain.' The slowdown has forced TCV to extend the VNI West completion date from 2028 to 2030 for VNI West. The progress of the massive Western Renewables Link is also under a cloud, after porponent AusNet extended the transmission lines completion dat sfrom mid-2027 to late 2029, due to landholder resistance and a slowdown in the pace of construction. Both projects also face the uncertainty of what happens if a Liberal-Nationals government is elected in November next year, given the coalition is considering a Plan B alternative that would end the need for VNI West. Australian Energy Market Operator Victorian group manager Claire Cass, who is overseeing the VNI West, notified landholders last week that the 2028 completion date for the project had been delayed until 2030, to 'account for time needed to progress land access arrangements' and other planning and environmental assessments. WRL general manager Gerard Carew said 'we recognise that hosting infrastructure like the Western Renewables Link can be challenging and in response to landholder feedback, we have recently introduced a range of new compensation and benefit sharing initiatives for landholders. 'We are currently positively engaging with the majority of landholders.' However AusNet has admitted its lack of access to properties along the 190km WRL route hampered its ability to prepare an Environmental Effects Statement for the project, which it finally released this week after months of delays. 'As we have not been able to access all sections of the proposed route, the data included in the EES takes a conservative approach to ensure all potential environmental impacts,' AusNet stated. The EES states that while 'construction of the (WRL) project may temporarily disrupt routine activities and restrict land use', the longer-term residual impacts were assessed as minor for construction. However the EES also states 'potential impacts from restrictions and disruptions to routine activities, and the temporary isolation and redundancy of productive land may vary property to property and in some cases could be greater. 'Impacts will be managed through the development and implementation of property-specific management plans and strategies.' Meanwhile AusNet is also trying to gain wider community support for the project by offering payments to the neighbours of affected landholders. The WRL Near Neighbour Benefit program offers payments of $20,000 to anyone within 400m to 1km of the transmission line and $40,000 for those closer than 400m. Victorian Nationals leader Danny O'Brien said the Coalition was considering the Plan B 'cheaper, less disruptive option, as we finalise a position ahead of next year's election'. Plan B involves using 1321kms of existing powerline easements to lift the state's transmission capacity by 16,675 megawatts, allowing more wind and solar farms to connect to the grid and eliminating the need to construct the VNI West project. Originally published as Farmers offered $460,000/km in latest VNI West deal
Sky News AU
3 days ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
Renewable energy targets under threat as offshore wind producer considers selling major Victorian project while delays mount
In a major blow to Australia's clean energy targets, one of the nations largest offshore wind producers is considering selling its Gippsland project off the Victoria coast, while transmission line projects continue to lag. Bluefoat Energy, based in Spain, acquired a feasibility license late last year to construct a significant offshore wind project off Victoria's Gippsland region and also secured a preliminary development licence in New South Wales with both considered essential in meeting state and federal emission reduction deadlines. However, The Australian reported that sources within the company revealed BlueFoat was considering departing the Australian market altogether and was further mulling selling off its Victorian development. However, a spokesman for the company declined to comment and insisted that no final decision had been made. Victoria, which stands as one of Australia's most fossil fuel dependent states, has some of the most stringent renewable energy targets in the nation, and aims to reach 95 per cent renewable electricity generation by 2035. Energy experts have been despairing about the feasibility of the state's targets as coal-fired power stations continue to reach the end of their lifespans. Two of the state's largest coal-fired power stations, Energy Australia's Yallourn and AGL Energy's Loy Yang A, are due to close their doors within the next ten years. Clean energy projects, particularly in the south-east, continue to be bogged down in protracted delays, including the VNI West project which will now be completed in 2030 as opposed to the original deadline of 2028. The offshore wind sector also faces lengthening completion timelines, inconsistent state and federal regulation, paired with a lack of global attitude towards the clean energy transition as US President Donald Trump continues to wind down investments in renewable projects both domestically and abroad. Offshore wind also faces a concerning lacks of transmission infrastructure, local manufacturing capabilities and persistent labour shortages. BlueFloat's potential withdrawal is set to raise alarm bells at both federal and state levels, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan both touting offshore wind as one of the most critical elements to Australia's energy transition. Victoria unlike other states has placed offshore wind at the heart of its decarbonisation strategy and set a bold target of producing nine gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2040, which the state government claims is enough to power more than 6.5 million homes. However, BlueFoat is not the only global energy consortium facing mounting difficulties in Australia with Norwegian energy firm Equinor also yet to formally accept an offshore wind development licence in NSW. The International Energy Agency has warned that global costs for offshore energy projects have risen by as much as 40 per cent due to supply chain woes and persistently high inflation.
Sky News AU
3 days ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
Two-year delay for VNI West sparks fresh doubts over Australia's renewable energy ambitions
Australia's shaky transition to clean energy has suffered a major blow, with the roughly $4 billion VNI West electricity interconnector project now delayed by two years – moving the delivery date from 2028 to late 2030. The postponement raises serious concerns over whether the Albanese government can meet its renewable energy targets, including a plan to double the grid's renewable share to 82 per cent by the end of the decade. The pressure is mounting as major coal plants like Victoria's Yallourn station are still on track to close in 2028, leaving a potential gap in supply. Stretching 240 kilometres across Victoria and New South Wales, the VNI West project is facing stiff resistance from landowners and farmers who have become increasingly vocal about the proposed route slicing through regional communities. Back in May, VicGrid – the agency overseeing the project on Victoria's end – told The Australian that delays for both VNI West and the Western Renewables Link were in part due to the challenge of earning 'social licence' among affected communities. The new timeline deepens concerns around the state's broader transition strategy, especially given the critical role of transmission in delivering new solar and wind generation from renewable energy zones in western Victoria and along the Murray River. The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) says the delay reflects 'revised planning, design and construction assumptions' and allows for a more inclusive process with landowners. 'The new construction completion target allows more time for detailed environmental, geotechnical and cultural assessments, along with more meaningful landholder engagement on access and easement arrangements,' said Claire Cass from AEMO's Transmission Company Victoria (TCV) unit. 'We know this updated timeline may be frustrating, but we're committed to working with landholders respectfully and providing the support they need to consider what is best for them, their properties and farming or business operations.' The state government insists the delay won't impact reliability in the short term. 'AEMO has indicated the revised project timeline will not impact the reliability of Victoria's electricity network,' a government spokeswoman said. AEMO is expected to factor in the revised deadline in its upcoming Electricity Statement of Opportunities report due in August. The delay comes on the back of AEMO's recent warning in May, when it flagged a blowout in the cost of delivering $20 billion worth of transmission projects. These soaring costs – partly fuelled by skill shortages and growing resistance from rural communities – could add to household power bills. Overhead transmission line costs have spiked by as much as 55 per cent, while substation costs have surged up to 35 per cent, based on updated estimates from AEMO's 2024 modelling. The new 2030 timeline also aligns with the release of TCV's easement and access package for VNI West, set to be delivered directly to landowners along the proposed route. 'For the first time, landholders will receive detailed information about the project benefit payments they can receive, indicative property-specific impact compensation and field survey access terms,' Ms Cass said. TCV stressed that reviewing the documents or engaging with liaison officers did not mean landowners were endorsing the project. 'The approach simply provides landholders with more say on how the project may affect them and their properties, so that compensation accurately reflects the impact,' Ms Cass said. Meanwhile, AusNet – developer of the 190km Western Renewables Link – last week announced a new 'Near Neighbour' payment scheme, offering up to $40,000 to households within a kilometre of the planned infrastructure, in an attempt to ease opposition. 'The Near Neighbour Benefit Program was a recognition that neighbours have similar experiences to those landholders directly hosting infrastructure on their land,' AusNet said. Despite these financial sweeteners, frustration continues to grow among Victorian farmers, many of whom say they're bearing the brunt of the state's renewables push. They accuse the Allan government of ignoring their concerns and putting food security at risk in its haste to overhaul the power grid. Both the VNI West and Western Renewables Link projects were originally due online in 2028, a timeline that aligned with the planned closure of several legacy coal plants. Now, officials and energy experts are sounding the alarm over the growing gap between ambition and delivery, as Victoria targets 65 per cent renewables by 2030 and 95 per cent by 2035. The state's transition blueprint includes 5.2 million solar panels, nearly 1,000 wind turbines, and transmission corridors covering 7 per cent of Victoria's landmass, all under intense scrutiny as delays and discontent mount.
AU Financial Review
3 days ago
- Business
- AU Financial Review
Key Victorian transmission line hit by two-year delay
One of Victoria's key transmission projects needed to underpin the state's shift away from coal power has been delayed by a further two years to allow more time to negotiate land access for the contentious venture. The delay in the completion date for the $3.3 billion VNI West project until late 2030 has dealt another blow to the troubled roll-out of clean energy generation to meet end-of-decade targets for renewable energy and emissions reduction.
