One of Australia’s largest renewable energy transmission projects has expanded zones for solar, battery and wind developments with the cost of connection to almost double.
The latest version of Victoria’s 2025 Transmission Plan, released by state government agency VicGrid on Sunday, revealed a 200,000-hectare increase in the area available to developers.
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.
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.
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.
The number of distinct zones has been increased to nine from seven, also in response to feedback.
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The greatest change will be in the state’s west with an expansion to the Wimmera-southern Mallee zone, while a new area around Coleraine has been added to the south west zone.
The state energy minister, Lily D’Ambrosio, said more than 42% of Victoria’s electricity was produced by renewables in the past financial year, with the state reaching record levels of renewable energy generation.
“Our record investment in renewable energy is paying off,” she said in a statement on Sunday.
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“Victoria consistently has the lowest wholesale power prices in the country, helping to slash energy bills for families and businesses.”
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.
But the latest modelling predicts the cost of connecting Victoria’s renewable energy zones could almost double.
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 Market Operator costings for the transmission lines.
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.
The federal government has a target of 82% renewable energy in the national grid by 2030, up from 43% this year.
