Snowy Hydro line shifts
TransGrid has changed its planned route to connect Snowy Hydro 2.0.
TransGrid has released a new footprint for the HumeLink project, which will connect the $5 billion expanded Snowy Hydro project to the power grid.
Routes from Book Book to Gobarralong and from Maragle to Yaven Creek have been dropped, while a new corridor has been added through the Gilmore Valley and a new option north of Tumut.
The company says the changes will reduce the footprint from 500km to 360km.
TransGrid says it will now “reset” its community consultation. This comes after an independent review found processes relating to the HumeLink project did not meet best-practice standards.
The old route had angered many farmers in NSW, and the new one has not gone down without complaint either.
Translink project director Tim Edwards says consultation with farmers in the Gilmore Valley is being prioritised.
“Additional studies will refine them further and prospectively remove some of the additional options that we've put on the table by making sure we connect the lines and ultimately work through the constraints around environmental, technical and regulatory,” he said.
“All options around the different ways around connecting the lines are considered, and effectively where public land is feasible and we can work through either public or private land, we work through those constraints in an objective way.”
An environmental impact statement is due to be made public next year.