Build battery booster

A BATTERY harnessing solar and wind energy for the proposed VNI West route through Loddon Shire is a key plank in a consultation submission by Reg Holt and Ken Pattison.

The Loddon farmers want the transmission line to have capacity to take wind and solar energy generated in the shire.

The pair has proposed building the battery near Wedderburn.

“The battery transfer station is approximately half way along the Interconnector which will facilitate the accumulation of energy from solar panels in the north and wind turbines to the south and providing the necessary buffering required to smooth out any fluctuations in capacity due to unforeseen circumstances,” they have said.

“It will also provide the booster power to the highway grid only a relatively short distance from feed in locations.

“The location of our proposed interconnector intersects the highways at approximately the 200km range from both Melbourne and Geelong.

“This is a strategically useful distance to develop a feed in location for the grid to support the rapid charging needs of a modern electrified transport system. The energy can flow both in a northern and southern direction.”

They are proposing an alteration to Australian Energy Market Operators new preferred route.

Labelled option 5A by Mr Holt and Mr Pattison, the route would go north from new Waubra to Bealiba and Logan before crossing the Calder Highway below Wedderburn and running across to near Serpentine and Dingee and then north beyond Pyramid Hill.

“The opportunity for the establishment of significant numbers of additional wind turbines in the Wedderburn area alone, along the pathway once the VNI 5a West is constructed, we believe will exceed 1000 MWatts,” they have written in their submission.

“With the already proposed

200 MWatt solar farm in the Terrick area and the solar farms already in the Gannawarra Shire that cannot currently connect to the grid, the proposed VNI 5a interconnector will quickly be unable to cope with the generation capacity available if it is constructed to the proposed limit of 3.4 GigaWatts.

“To avoid the mistake made by Malcolm Turnbull and the Liberals to the proposed Labor NBN network these Labor Governments (state and federal) and AEMO must design and build this VNI 5a interconnector with the future squarely in its sights for the Victorian and national interests.

“The proposed VNI 5a Interconnector must be a minimum capacity of six GWatts.

“The design of this VNI 5a interconnector must be designed to have sufficient capacity to enable the development of significant power generation opportunities within the profitable economic distances along the whole length from Waubra to the NSW border.”

Mr Holt and Mr Pattison say the route, currently tagged by AEMO as only land of interest, should begin in the Waubra area and not Bulgana, culminating in Kerang in the north.

“To try to extend the VNI towards Echuca and not utilise the

‘Lease land at fair value’

existing high voltage easement currently in existence will cause significant delays, community disharmony and a huge additional cost both financially and in time.

“Our proposed pathway is largely broad acre farming with cropping and livestock husbandry as the major land use Industries.

“This is therefore, a low human population density zone, sporadically punctuated by small hamlets and towns largely devoid of peri urban lifestyle communities.”

Mr Holt and Mr Pattison said there was significant opportunity for native title areas to be included in future wind turbine developments.

“Income from these shared lands could be divided between the Aboriginal community, local government and conservation groups - maybe a focussed program to fence out the Wychitella State Forrest with vermin proof fencing and eradicating foxes, cats and wild dogs from the area so that the Mallee fowl can have a safe area to survive and flourish.

“This would create employment opportunities to conduct environmental tours outlining the relationship of the Aboriginal community to land,” they have written.

LAND on the transmission line route should be leased from owner at an attractive indexed figure and in perpetuity.

The proposal by Mr Pattison and Mr Holt is in their submission to AEMO provided to the Loddon Herald.

“If the line is no longer required then the land must be restored to its original state with all construction materials, wires, ancillary equipment, anchor points and concrete removed,” they say.

They also propose other rebates for farmers.

“This project will not progress to meet the short imperative timeline requirements of Government if the communities that are exposed to the visual pollution of the transmission Lines and the immediate physical/ production impact of the change in land use and access, for the current owners/occupiers of the land is not mitigated.”

Mr Pattison and Mr Holt want transmission line owners to pay council rates for farm land on the path and all landowner legal fees for the project.

And they have called for better farmer compensation.

“It is absurd to only be contemplating a compensation package that will not provide for a positive benefit to those people whose lives are being detrimentally affected by this development,” they have told AEMO.

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