One of Australia\u2019s largest renewable energy transmission projects has expanded zones for solar, battery and wind developments with the cost of connection to almost double.<\/p>\n
The latest version of Victoria\u2019s 2025 Transmission Plan,<\/a> released by state government agency VicGrid on Sunday, revealed a 200,000-hectare increase in the area available to developers.<\/p>\n The plan outlines the parts of the state designated as renewable energy zones and the new transmission infrastructure needed in the next 15 years to connect them to the grid.<\/p>\n The latest version increases areas of land designated as hubs for wind, solar and battery farms from 1.66m hectares proposed in May to 1.88m hectares across six proposed renewable energy zones.<\/p>\n The amendment increases the footprint of these areas to 7.9% of the state, up from 7.0% in the original draft proposal, after industry feedback said larger areas were needed to make projects technically and commercially viable.<\/p>\n The number of distinct zones has been increased to nine from seven, also in response to feedback.<\/p>\n Sign up: AU Breaking News email<\/a><\/p>\n The greatest change will be in the state\u2019s west with an expansion to the Wimmera-southern Mallee zone, while a new area around Coleraine has been added to the south west zone.<\/p>\n The state energy minister, Lily D\u2019Ambrosio, said more than 42% of Victoria\u2019s electricity was produced by renewables in the past financial year, with the state reaching record levels of renewable energy generation.<\/p>\n \u201cOur record investment in renewable energy is paying off,\u201d she said in a statement on Sunday.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to Breaking News Australia<\/p>\n Get the most important news as it breaks<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: <\/strong>Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n \u201cVictoria consistently has the lowest wholesale power prices in the country, helping to slash energy bills for families and businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n Victorians paid an average wholesale price of $107 per megawatt hour, compared with $151 in NSW, $138 in South Australia, $127 in Queensland and $115 in Tasmania, according to government data.<\/p>\n But the latest modelling predicts the cost of connecting Victoria\u2019s renewable energy zones could almost double.<\/p>\n The government initially estimated a $4.3bn cost, but VicGrid puts the latest price tag closer to $7.9bn, taking into account new Australian Energy<\/a> Market Operator costings for the transmission lines.<\/p>\n The costs are expected to be mostly recouped through higher consumer bills, although the government argues Victorians will overall be better off with wholesale energy costs lowered by the delivery of more renewable energy into the grid.<\/p>\n