Gippsland Offshore Wind Transmission EES Series Two - Online Webinar

Transmission Crunch Time

The Gippsland Offshore Wind Transmission 2 GW project centres on a new shared high-voltage line that will link future offshore wind farms off Victoria's southeast coast to the grid at Loy Yang Power Station in the Latrobe Valley, via a connection hub near Giffard. VicGrid, the state-owned entity tasked with building renewable energy zones and transmission, leads the effort. The line itself is onshore—approximately 55 km of 500 kV double-circuit overhead towers—handling the first tranche of offshore generation. The urgency stems from Australia's federal declaration of the Gippsland area in December 2022, which opened 15,000 square kilometres for offshore wind and has since seen nine active feasibility licences awarded to developers including Ørsted, Iberdrola, and Star of the South. These licences, many granted or advanced in 2024-2025, allow site investigations but require grid access to progress to commercial viability. Without timely transmission, projects risk stranding billions in potential investment and delaying contributions to national emissions targets. Recent milestones have sharpened the timeline. In October 2025, VicGrid shortlisted three consortia for the invitation to tender phase, with a development partner expected to be appointed in 2026. Early works could follow soon after. Meanwhile, the Environment Effects Statement (EES)—Victoria's rigorous impact assessment process—was declared necessary in September 2024, with draft scoping requirements exhibited in March-April 2025 and finalised in June 2025. Technical studies, including biodiversity, traffic, and cultural heritage assessments, continued through late 2025, leading to community information sessions in early 2026. Stakes are high for multiple parties. Landholders along the corridor face potential compulsory acquisition or easements, with ongoing engagement to refine routes and mitigate amenity losses. Environmental groups highlight risks to biodiversity, surface water, and migratory species under both state and federal (EPBC Act) oversight—the EES is accredited for Commonwealth matters. Economically, the project underpins up to 15,000 construction jobs and 7,500 ongoing roles across Gippsland offshore wind, plus grid stability as Victoria phases out coal-fired generation. Non-obvious tensions include the choice of overhead lines over underground options—cheaper and faster but more visible and disruptive to farmland—and the shared nature of the infrastructure, which spreads costs across future developers but requires early certainty to avoid bottlenecks. Community consultations reveal divides: some see economic revitalisation in a coal-dependent region, others fear long-term landscape and agricultural impacts outweigh benefits. Failure to navigate these trade-offs risks project delays into the late 2020s, when grid congestion could hinder renewable integration and expose the state to higher energy prices or reliability issues. The bottom line is that 2026 will likely determine the project's trajectory: a finalised route, appointed partner, and exhibited EES could unlock the first major wave of Australian offshore wind, while prolonged disputes or adverse findings could set back Victoria's renewable ambitions by years.