Transgrid has announced the raising of the first of 1,500 steel towers from the ground in NSW Far West, marking a significant milestone in the construction of the EnergyConnect.
According to Transgrid, the $1.8 billion EnergyConnect project is a transmission project crucial to Australia’s clean energy future. It will enable electricity sharing across NSW, South Australia, and Victoria, integrate renewable energy into the grid, and assist Australia in meeting its emissions reduction targets.
Transgrid and its construction partner SecureEnergy are constructing the 700km NSW segment of the project from Wagga Wagga to the South Australian border, with a connection to Red Cliffs in Victoria.
“We are getting on with the job of delivering the critical infrastructure needed to provide Australian households and businesses with cheaper, more reliable and sustainable energy,” Transgrid CEO Brett Redman said.
Brettman stated that installing the first transmission towers on EnergyConnect is yet another critical milestone in constructing the energy superhighway that will expedite the nation’s clean energy future.
At Buronga, near Mildura, construction personnel used a 230-tonne crane to erect the first guyed towers. Transgid stated that guyed towers, as opposed to traditional self-supporting towers, consist of a central pole kept in place by four steel cables.
“Importantly, this type of tower requires about 15 per cent less steel and 25 per cent less concrete in construction, achieving a reduced carbon footprint. It is just one of the ways Transgrid is delivering more sustainable outcomes on our transmission projects as we lead the transition to a clean energy future,” Redman said.
According to Redman, EnergyConnect will also save NSW customers $180 million each year and create up to 1,500 jobs, resulting in a net economic gain of $4 billion.
“EnergyConnect is also providing a major economic injection in local communities along the project alignment, with our construction partner SecureEnergy investing more than $17 million with local businesses to date. Spending in local communities, awarding local procurement packages and buying locally is a key priority,” he stated.
Transgrid also reported that the construction on the expansion of Transgrid’s Buronga substation, which will serve as the primary hub for energy sharing between the three states, is well advanced. Earthworks on the substation bench are now complete, with concrete foundations being laid to support the synchronous condensers and transformers at the heart of the facility.
“The 16-hectare expansion of the Buronga substation is the equivalent of 20 football fields and, once operational, it will be one of the largest and most complex substations in the Southern Hemisphere,” Redman added.
With the installation of a 30-hectare worker accommodation camp and lay down with office facilities at Buronga, work is currently underway on two more camps on Renmark Rd, west of the South Australian border, and near Lockhart, at the project’s eastern end.
Six labour camps will eventually be created along the EnergyConnect alignment, offering 490,000 nights of lodging during the project. The camps will ease pressure on local communities’ limited housing and accommodation, cut travel to building sites, and assure workers’ health and well-being with high-quality amenities like gyms and entertainment areas.
