The Victoria to New South Wales Interconnector West project will be routed through northern Victoria — known as KerangLink — and is slated to be completed by 2027.
It will deliver an additional 1800 megawatts of capacity during peak demand periods and allow Victoria to export 1930 megawatts to NSW.
The project comes as the number of solar and wind farms in remote areas of the electricity network were affecting grid performance and operational stability.
Victorian Energy, Environment and Climate Change Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said KerangLink would play a vital role in electricity transmission.
“KerangLink will be a renewable energy superhighway, creating a wave of new jobs right across the state,” she said.
“This project will unlock more wind and solar power in Victoria than ever before and is crucial action to address climate change.”
It is a move the Murray River Group of Councils has welcomed.
“This project will help to unlock the enormous potential of northern Victoria to generate renewable energy and to deliver it across south-eastern Australia,” chair Cr Bill Moar said.
The project will help maintain system security and reliability, while also allowing more renewable energy from the north-west to be connected to the grid.
Cr Moar said there were currently large-scale solar projects in various stages of completion in the region, which would generate 4000 MW of renewable energy.
“The KerangLink project is a vital piece of the infrastructure needed to bring this power to customers,” he said.
This project will bring $3.9 billion in economic activity to Victoria and create 870 jobs in construction.
“We have had the whole region backing this,” Cr Moar said.
“The support from (Federal Member for Mallee) Dr Anne Webster and from (State Member for Mildura) Ali Cupper has been excellent and I thank them for that.
“I also want to acknowledge support and advocacy for KerangLink from across the region and thank the Regional Partnerships, Loddon Mallee RDA Committee, the Mallee Regional Innovation Centre, Loddon Mallee New Energy Taskforce, the Loddon Campaspe Group of Councils, and the Central Victorian Greenhouse Alliance.
“Getting KerangLink locked in as the route and getting the early works done so it is constructed by 2027 will deliver such a boost for our region, but it is truly a nationally significant project.
“It will improve network resilience and reliability for customers across south-east Australia.”
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