Power route moved

By Lachlan Ellis

A new proposed route for the controversial Western Renewables Link has been published, but groups protesting the powerlines say the plan is just “more of the same”.

AusNet Services, which is planning the Western Renewables Link, formally announced the updated proposal on Thursday 18 August, with tweaks to the sections of the line from Waubra to Glendonald, Mount Prospect to Long Forest, and Long Forest to Sydenham.

The section from Bulgana to Waubra remains the same under the new proposal.

One of the biggest adjustments is near Myrniong, with the new proposed route moving further from the Myrniong township and closer to the Lerderderg State Park, which AusNet says will “reduce the visual scale of towers” and increase distance to some houses on farming land”.

A spokesperson for the Western Renewables Link said the proposed route had been refined “in response to additional feedback and studies”, and the project “will be developed over several years”.

“We’ve reviewed the two alternatives at Melton and chosen a modified version of the northern route that was originally proposed. At this stage we have no updates for the Hepburn Lagoon options. A preferred route has not yet been identified and our investigations are continuing,” the spokesperson told the Moorabool News.

“All impacted landholders with a property within the proposed route were contacted by their dedicated Land Liaison Officer. Community information sessions have also been held in relevant local government areas so community members can learn more.”

But Emma Muir from Stop AusNet’s Towers argues the realignment is just pushing the issue to other landowners, and said some impacted landowners had been blindsided by AusNet’s announcement on Thursday.

“We’re really disappointed with how they’ve released this, I know at least half a dozen people who weren’t consulted and didn’t even know, they weren’t even contacted about the new route before the announcement,” Ms Muir said.

“The whole community in these areas will be impacted, not just landholders, which AusNet fail to recognise. They say 240 landholders are affected, but it’s not just that, it’s neighbours and the community too. If you’re a neighbour and powerlines are going up on your boundary fence, it might impact you too.

“I don’t really see a lot of change, I just think it’s more of the same, and we’re disappointed that yet again they’re not looking into undergrounding. That’d be a better change,” she said.

The Western Renewables Link is currently going through the Environmental Effects Statement (EES) process, and Ms Muir says the community will “continue to fight” as it has been for almost the last two and a half years.

“We’re not going away, we’re still here…why not use the best technology, be clever, spend the money and do it properly. Keep the community on-side instead of fighting us…we will continue to fight. We’ll happily help you build them if you build them in a way the community agrees to,” she said.

To view the new proposed route for yourself, visit www.westernrenewableslink.com.au/news and click ‘Update to the proposed Western Renewables Link route’.