Australia's EnergyConnect project is almost ready to go live
Together with its delivery partner Elecnor Australia, Transgrid has completed construction of the 700 km New South Wales section of the ambitious EnergyConnect project, which will enable transmission of renewable energy between NSW, Victoria and South Australia. The NSW section has involved more than 1500 towers and over 10,000 km of high-voltage conductor.
With the NSW portion now complete, the entire project is ready to be activated, pending further testing and energisation of some sections.
EnergyConnect’s first stage, a 160 km line from the South Australian border to Buronga (NSW) and into Victoria, became operational last year. Stage 2 of the project, the 540 km line between Buronga and Wagga Wagga, is now being energised following detailed commissioning checks. Later this year, the Australian Energy Market Operator will begin its inter-network testing on stage 2, to confirm the reliability and performance of the new infrastructure.
Transgrid Group CEO Brett Redman said EnergyConnect is key to building the modern power system needed to cater for a modern economy by 2035.
“NSW is well advanced in the deep transition, and Transgrid has been getting on with the job of delivering more than 2000 km of critical transmission lines that will provide millions of consumers with access to lower-cost renewable energy,” Redman said.
“Energisation of EnergyConnect marks the culmination of one of the nation’s most significant transmission builds and is a defining moment in the delivery of Australia’s clean energy future.”
After thanking local communities and landowners for their support during construction, Transgrid Executive General Manager of Major Projects Gordon Taylor congratulated the EnergyConnect project team for overcoming significant challenges to deliver the interconnector.
“Construction of EnergyConnect has not been easy, with the project facing a range of challenges from global supply chain impacts, labour shortages, to record inflation, flooding and the insolvency of a delivery partner,” Taylor said.
“This colossal effort has delivered a unified energy backbone to carry stable, lower-cost renewable power exactly where and when it is needed most.
“We are proud to have delivered significant benefits to regional NSW during EnergyConnect’s construction, which created 1500 jobs, invested $300 million in supply contracts with local businesses, provided education and training opportunities, and funded community projects and partnerships.”
EnergyConnect construction (NSW section stages 1 and 2) has involved:
- More than 10 million worker hours
- 700 km of transmission lines from the South Australian border to Red Cliffs in Victoria, and Wagga Wagga
- 1508 towers and monopoles requiring 46,068 tonnes of steel
- 10,385 km of high-voltage conductor cabling — enough to span from Sydney to Perth three times
- A 15 ha substation at Buronga, comprising synchronous condensers, phase-shifting transformers, shunt reactors, step down transformers, power transformers and capacitor banks
- A 4 ha substation at Bundure, with synchronous condensers, shunt reactors and capacitor banks
- Expansion of the existing Wagga Wagga substation.
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