A regional council says a contentious government plan to build more transmission lines across Victoria and New South Wales "needs to be done", despite community backlash.
The Victorian government this week released a new preferred route and development plan for the Victoria to New South Wales Interconnector (VNI) West project, which is part of a strategy to reach its target of 95 per cent renewable energy by 2035.
It aims to deliver 500-kilovolt overhead transmission lines from Bulgana, south-east of Stawell in Victoria, to just north of Jerilderie in NSW.
The network's preferred route changed on the weekend after the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) revealed on Saturday a new choice called option 5A.
This route now runs across the Murray River north of Kerang, instead of near Echuca, heading up to a substation at Dinawan, near Jerilderie.
A key element of the 5A route runs through the Gannawarra Shire Council area in Central Victoria.
Council's executive manager of economic development, Roger Griffiths, says the VNI link "needs to be done" to connect new renewable energy projects to the electricity grid.
"This is about keeping the lights on in Victoria," Mr Griffiths said.
Transmission lines into the Kerang power substation are up to 60 years old.
"It's time a lot of this infrastructure is replaced," Mr Griffiths said.
"One of the biggest issues we have at the moment is that the network right across Victoria is constrained."
About 3,000 megawatts of renewable energy projects are proposed for the shire as part of the VNI West project, including a Kerang Tesla battery system designed to store renewable energy for the electricity grid.
Landholders hear about new route from Facebook
The latest preferred route leaves new landholders facing the possibility of powerlines being constructed on their properties, with some telling the ABC they found out via social media or journalists calling them.
Community groups and landholders have previously rallied against the transmission lines and slammed AEMO and the government for poor consultation.
Boort farmer Vaughn Toose said he learnt of the transmission route change via Facebook "while coming home from the footy" on Saturday.
"I think the powerlines will come through my place for sure," he said.
Mr Toose said he believed the lines would be constructed west of Boort, as the eastern side of town included a "massive flood plain".
"I'm concerned, and I've not had any information about it," he said.
Nicola Falcon from the AEMO told the Victorian Country Hour the changed route was in response to community consultation.
"There are opportunities [on the northern section] for the line to cross in a different area and avoid some of the cultural and environmentally significant areas that we would have otherwise been passing through," she said.
"Consultation is going to continue with this new route.
The area of interest will be narrowed into a corridor by July and then to an indicative route by the end of the year," Ms Falcon said.
"We've just launched the Transmission Company Victoria website where we've got a central point … to collect information from landholders in that area as we start narrowing the corridor," she said.
'Not a massive variation'
Mr Griffiths has backed the state government's route change, stating the new path "was not a massive variation" to the existing alternatives.
He said it made sense to move the lines away from Gunbower and Echuca region, which was "very well-populated".
"Critical water sports are over there, there's vineyards, dairy infrastructure, there's caravan parks, there's a lot of houses, it really is a high growth area," he said
"So keeping it away from high growth areas is, I think, a sensible move."
Mr Griffiths said farmers west of Kerang had operated with large powerlines for more than 60 years.
"They run through high-value cropping country and those farmers out there really don't notice a great deal of impediment from this particular line," he said.
Victoria Energy Policy Centre director Bruce Mountain stood by his assessment that going ahead with the project would be a "monumental mistake".
He said AEMO had made "numerous false assumptions" which overestimated the benefit of the transmission line projects and "greatly understated" costs.
"We felt that it had been driven by their desire to build interconnection, as opposed to achieve the Victorian government's policies," Professor Mountain said.
He said the latest development, including a ministerial order to accelerate the VNI proposal, would "get the ship rolling very quickly".
Victorian Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D'Ambrosio and AEMO were contacted for comment.
