Location: Gippsland, approximately 85km corridor between Giffard and Hazelwood Terminal Station, Hazelwood North OR approximately 70km between Stradbroke and Hazelwood Terminal Station, Hazelwood North.
Overview
In 2022, we identified an 85km corridor across Gippsland to develop new transmission infrastructure, connecting locally produced renewable energy to the grid. The project is known as the Gippsland Renewable Energy Zone transmission project (G-REZ).
Project history
There has been significant interest in developing renewable energy projects (both onshore and offshore) in Gippsland. However, there was no transmission infrastructure east of Loy Yang in the Latrobe Valley to connect new projects into the National Electricity Market (NEM).
In 2022, the Federal Government declared Gippsland as Australia’s first offshore wind zone, which gained the interest of renewable energy supporters across Victoria.
In recent years, we have continued to refine our preferred route for the G-REZ project based on discussions with:
- landowners along the proposed route
- nearby neighbours
- Traditional Owners
- local government
- other key stakeholders.
This included making significant adjustments to the preferred route near the Loy Yang Mine and identifying an alternative site to develop a terminal station at Stradbroke.
VicGrid
In 2021, the Victorian Government established VicGrid to coordinate the planning and development of Victoria’s Renewable Energy Zones. This included identifying a preferred corridor to develop new transmission infrastructure in Gippsland to provide a connection to the grid for offshore wind proponents. We continued to develop the G-REZ project while VicGrid worked to identify its study area for new transmission infrastructure in Gippsland.
In March 2024, VicGrid released its study area for new transmission infrastructure in Gippsland, which did not align with the preferred route we identified for the G-REZ. Given this, we made the decision not to continue developing the G-REZ project independently of VicGrid.
Community feedback
We would like to thank stakeholders who engaged with us as part of developing the G-REZ project, particularly landowners whose properties would host the transmission infrastructure. The insights and feedback we received were critical in shaping the project, including making adjustments to our preferred route.
We continue to support the role of VicGrid in coordinating the development of new transmission infrastructure in Victoria.
Contact us
For more information, visit the G-REZ website.
If you have any questions, please email info@grez.com.au.