Victoria has unveiled its first long-term transmission strategy, outlining how renewable energy zones and grid upgrades will underpin the state’s shift away from coal-fired power.
The 2025 Victorian Transmission Plan, released this week by VicGrid, maps out transmission projects and renewable energy zone (REZ) development through to 2040.
It identifies six onshore REZs and a dedicated Gippsland shoreline connection point for offshore wind.
VicGrid says the strategy is designed to provide long-term certainty for investors while balancing cost, land use, and environmental concerns.
“We’ve taken a new approach to planning renewable energy generation and transmission that aims to minimise impacts on communities, landholders and Traditional Owners, while keeping costs low for consumers,” the agency stated.
The plan proposes four new transmission projects alongside upgrades and reconstructions of existing infrastructure.
Detailed modelling in the appendices sets out candidate development pathways, energy market projections, and power system requirements. An economic appraisal has also been published to weigh the relative benefits and costs of each scenario.
The Gippsland shoreline REZ marks a key feature of the plan. Developers of offshore wind will be required to connect via this limited corridor, which has been defined to avoid ad hoc cable landfalls and reduce conflicts with agriculture and coastal communities. Unlike onshore REZs, it is not intended to host solar or wind generation directly.
The agricultural compatibility study, commissioned from consultancy RMCG, shaped decisions on REZ locations. It assessed how various farming practices can co-exist with renewable energy infrastructure and flagged opportunities for dual land use in some regions. VicGrid has invited industry feedback on how to expand this evidence base.
Stakeholder consultation has played a central role, with VicGrid publishing a Final Engagement Report detailing how landholders, Traditional Owners, industry, and communities influenced the final plan.
Not all requests were accommodated, but VicGrid said the outcome reflected “difficult choices, made by weighing up many factors to deliver a plan that best serves all Victorians.”
The release of the plan sets the stage for the next formal step: Ministerial declaration of REZs.
A six-week consultation process will open in coming weeks, giving affected communities and industry another opportunity to comment before zones are formally established.
More information is available here.