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How your feedback has influenced our decisions
Early engagement with communities and landholders has been our priority, and they have helped us make decisions about the location of new transmission infrastructure.
Early community engagement
VicGrid’s approach is a big change from the way transmission is usually planned, where the only considerations during the early stages are technical and economic.
Publishing a roadmap
In April 2023, VicGrid published an Offshore wind transmission development and engagement roadmap. The roadmap set out our key steps to plan new offshore wind transmission through direct and ongoing engagement with local communities and key stakeholders.
We also collected community feedback and captured what we heard in a summary report.
Feedback on our options assessment method
In mid 2023, VicGrid published and used community feedback to refine the options assessment method, the decision-making tool we have used to inform our selection of the study area. The feedback gathered has helped us design the assessment method and balance the relative importance of each factor considered. We captured the feedback in a summary report.
Gippsland study area
In early 2024, VicGrid shared the study area and connection hub for connecting offshore wind energy from the Gippsland coast to the power grid.
In this engagement phase, we focused on communicating the study area, explaining the project and how the options assessment method was used to identify the preferred technology. We also established a dedicated landholder liaison team to work with landholders identified in the study area.
We captured the feedback in a summary report.
Refining the study area to a corridor
We aim to narrow the study area to a preferred corridor through consultation with landholders, community, First Peoples, technical stakeholders, and on-the-ground studies.
Reducing the study area to a corridor aims to remove land that is less suitable to host transmission infrastructure.
VicGrid will make submissions under the Environment Effects Act 1978 (Vic) and the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) in the coming months.
More information on opportunities to provide feedback will be available soon. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up-to-date on the project.
Get in touch
To contact the project team directly, please get in touch via email at vicgrid@deeca.vic.gov.au.
Community support services
VicGrid acknowledges the uncertainty and concern around new offshore wind transmission infrastructure in Gippsland, particularly for affected landholders and communities.
We encourage anyone struggling with challenges to their own, a friend or a family member’s mental health and wellbeing to contact one of the independent support providers listed below for free and confidential advice.
We are talking to local organisations in Gippsland about putting in place local support services and will provide updates on this work.
Head to Health: 1800 595 212
Beyond Blue: 1300 224 636
LifeLine: 13 11 14
Page last updated: 20/08/24