Moorabool Shire digs in on power line

IN response to the proposed Western Victoria Transmission Network project, the Moorabool Shire have launched a new campaign aimed at taking the power line under ground.

The power line plan, spearheaded by energy company AusNet Services includes constructing 85-meter-high towers through the western region of Victoria.

Moorabool Shire’s campaign known as Green and Unseen aims to highlight to planners why the 500-kilovolt lines that that will connect wind farms near Ararat to the west of Melbourne should be placed underground.

Moorabool Shire mayor Cr David Edwards said with the transmission lines spanning the entire length of the municipality, the scale of this project is enormous and has the potential for danger.

“We’re proud to produce renewable energy though our wind farms to power more than 300,000 homes but putting the powerlines overhead is not green and is actually dangerous to Moorabool residents,” he said.

“There is extreme fire risk to many areas along the proposed transmission lines route.

“If a fire was to break out, the transmission lines could inhibit firefighting efforts and if a tower was to fall, people in our towns could be trapped.”

The Moorabool Shire council recently made a formal submission to Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley in response to a section in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act that refers to the overhead power lines.

Cr Edwards said that for the project to be truly green and fit in with the sustainable approach of the area, would mean for them to be unseen.

“As well as appealing to politicians, we want to appeal to Melbourne people to support us in our Green and Unseen campaign,” he said.

“We noted in the submission that we don’t object to the importance of the significant renewable energy infrastructure project, but a balance must be sought between providing the energy and impacting on Moorabool’s community.

“The only sustainable, long-term solution is the one that council and our community are advocating for to put these power lines underground.”

Moorabool Shire’s Green and Unseen campaign video can be viewed on the municipality’s YouTube channel or Facebook page.