Residents north of Ballarat have expressed mixed feelings as a key energy regulator recommends against building a major new terminal station in their backyard.
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An options assessment released by Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) on Thursday rules out Mount Prospect north of Ballarat as the preferred connection point between the controversial Western Renewables Link (WRL) and $3.2 billion Victoria-New South Wales Interconnector (VNI) West project, deeming a site further west more suitable.
The federal regulator's report names Bulgana, near Ararat, as the preferred location for a new terminal station connecting VNI West and the WRL because it has "the fewest environmental and social constraints identified in the area of interest" and is "most likely to assist in expediting the development and delivery of VNI West".
The recommendation comes after an updated VNI West cost benefit assessment found moving the point of connection to Bulgana would "provide greater net benefits for consumers"; "increase likelihood of timely project delivery"; and "better reflect local community needs".
The analysis took into account a range of "sensitivities" and gave greater consideration to "salient environmental, social and engineering matters".
Bulgana "clearly outperformed" six other options including Waubra and Lexton, despite presenting its own technical challenges.
AEMO has also suggested uprating the WRL segment from north of Ballarat to Bulgana from 220 kV to 500 kV.
No major changes were proposed for the WRL transmission line's Sydenham to Bulgana route, which has been the focus of fierce community backlash since AusNet Services launched the project in 2019.
AEMO's report met mixed reactions locally, with some happy to learn that the terminal station - a piece of infrastructure potentially the size of multiple football stadiums - was less likely to be built nearby.
Several affected Hepburn Shire residents, farmers, and business operators however told The Courier they saw little to celebrate in "passing the problem on to another small community".
"The locals are rapt because no one wants it here," said Drita de Fegely, front of house manager at Blampied's Swiss Mountain Hotel.
"But they don't want it to go down the road either - all that's doing is dropping it into someone else's lap."
Hepburn Shire Mayor Cr Brian Hood said in a media release the council was pleased to see Mount Prospect was no longer the preferred option but still had concerns about other recommendations.
"The community and Council have repeatedly called for the terminal station to be relocated from the proposed site and we are pleased that these concerns appear to have been listened to," he said.
"However, the largely unchanged power line route and significantly larger towers recommended in [AEMO's] report are of major concern."
Clarkes Hill community advocate Vicki Johnson said the terminal station location was less of a concern to "99 per cent of people impacted by the WRL" than the unchanged transmission line route.
Ms Johnson said it was "simply not true" that AEMO had listened to community concerns, and said some landholders along the route would be "even worse off" under the recommendation to uprate to 500 kV.
"The project has been unacceptable from the beginning," Ms Johnson said.
"Moving the terminal station scarcely has an impact on the vast majority of people who are impacted by the WRL."
The WRL is progressing through the environmental and planning approvals process and is expected to be delivered by 2027 - a year later than originally planned.
Partial undergrounding options will be submitted as part of an Environment Effects Statement due later this year.
WRL project executive Jeff Rigby acknowledged the terminal station location had been a "significant issue" for the community north of Ballarat, but did not confirm AEMO's recommendations would be adopted.
"We encourage community members to have their say on the options being considered," Mr Rigby said.
Renewable energy proponents including the Wimmera Development Association have been eager to emphasise the importance of increasing generation and transmission capacity in Western Victoria as coal-fired power stations such as Yallourn's close in coming years.
Ballarat-based Tony Goodfellow of not-for-profit advocacy organisation Re-alliance and the Climate Media Centre said AEMO's report, and recent state government action to expedite VNI West were "really good steps" towards energy security.
"Building this new transmission infrastructure is really important to keep the lights on," he said.
"The energy planner has identified that this is a really critical piece of infrastructure for the grid, but it's also really important for climate action as well - because the biggest barrier for switching off coal is not having good transmission lines to unlock renewable energy."
AEMO is accepting submissions on the outcomes of the options assessment until 5pm April 5, 2023 via VNIWestRITT@aemo.com.au
A decision on the connection point for VNI West and WRL including the terminal station location is expected to be made by mid-2023.
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