Mildura Rural City Council Mayor, Liam Wood, has hailed today’s announcement of a fully-funded VNI-West KerangLink as a game-changer for large scale solar generation in the region.
The Mayor said the project would unlock 4,000 MW of new power generation and create more than 3,200 jobs in northern Victoria.
It will also generate more than $1.8 billion in net market benefits, including for electricity users, he said.
“This project was one of the key Federal Election priorities submitted by the Murray River Group of Councils, which Mildura Rural City Council is an integral member of,” said Mayor Wood.
“This major announcement illustrates the power of standing up and ensuring our voice is heard at the highest levels of government. It’s really something to be celebrated.
“This is a landmark announcement for our region and for communities across northern Victoria, as it will finally provide the certainty that’s been so desperately needed around transmission capacity.”
The Commonwealth and Victoria today signed an agreement to jointly fund Victorian offshore wind projects, REZs, and the Victoria-NSW Interconnector (VNI West) KerangLink.
“Rewiring the Nation has always been about jobs in new energy industries, delivering cleaner, cheaper and more secure energy, and bringing down emissions – today it begins doing just that,” said Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese.
“This is an historic day for Victoria and for Australia with the rollout of these key projects putting us on track to be a renewable energy superpower.”
There are currently 11 development approvals for solar projects in the municipality, seven of which are large-scale projects, collectively worth more than $1.5 billion dollars, said Mayor Wood.
He said the VNI-West KerangLink was a crucial piece of infrastructure for Mildura and other members of the Murray River Group of Councils.
“This will allow our region to unlock the potential of the numerous large-scale solar projects that are either complete, under construction or in the pipeline, while encouraging new developments for many years to come.”
“This promises to have a transformative impact on our region’s economy, ushering in a new wave of solar projects and the resulting dramatic jobs growth that will stoke the fires of our already growing local economy.
“We look forward to being provided with more specific details about this project in the near future, and many more linked to the renewable energy boom that the Federal Government has committed do,” Mayor Wood said.
