The government of the Australian state of Victoria has allowed the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) to start works on the Victoria-New South Wales Interconnector West project (VNI West), which will boost Victoria’s import and export capacities to New South Wales (NSW) by more than 1.8 GW. Processes such as the Environment Effects Statement (EES) will be able to start during the course in 2023, a year earlier than originally planned.
The 500 kV double circuit line, which will connect Ballarat in Victoria to Dinawan in NSW, will unlock between 1.9 and 5 GW of new renewable projects in Victorian Renewable Energy Zones (REZs) and provide access to NSW projects like the 2 GW Snowy 2.0 hydro pumped storage project.
The VNI West Project, which is expected to cost around AUD3.3bn (US$2.3bn), is part of Victoria State’s target to reach 65% of renewables in power generation by 2030 and 95% by 2035.