The Victorian government has ordered an independent assessment into the costs of the $1.5 billion Western Renewables Link (WRL), after the project cleared a major environmental hurdle.
Still going ahead: A Victorian government spokesperson told the Brolga the cost assessment “is not a pause and review”.
“The Western Renewables Link is moving ahead and we are delivering it. It is about providing transparency on the value of the project to Victorians,” they said.
The background: The 190km transmission line project, which spans Bulgana near Ararat to the grid at Sydenham in Melbourne’s north-west, has been in planning for almost a decade.
WRL’s Environment Effects Statement (EES) was published in 2025 before a public inquiry and hearings ran through to March. Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny’s assessment concluded the project could proceed.
An EES is the state’s major environmental assessment process for projects that could have environmental impacts.
Another hurdle: The state assessment is one of two key hurdles, alongside approval under the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, which is also required to ensure the project has no impacts on any matters of national environmental significance.
Cost review: Premier Ben Carroll has ordered a cost review to be completed by the end of the year. He said no compulsory acquisitions of land where the transmission lines were expected to be built will occur during that time.
The Coalition announced it would pause the process in May 2027 and conduct a review.
Advocacy groups weigh in: Environment Victoria and RE-Alliance have criticised the review, warning further delays could create uncertainty for regional communities and Victoria’s energy system.
“Without [WRL] we kiss goodbye to the vast untapped wind and solar resources in the west of the state, leaving Victoria’s electricity system less reliable, more prone to blackouts and increasingly reliant on extremely expensive gas generation,” Environment Victoria CEO Jono La Nauze said in a statement.
RE-Alliance’s Tony Goodfellow said the advocacy organisation “has consistently called for better consultation, fair treatment of affected landholders and stronger benefits for host communities”.
“But those legitimate concerns will not be resolved by another delay. They will be resolved by delivering the project properly, with communities at the table.”
Image credit: AusNet