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A renewable energy zone is proposed between Kerang and Swan Hill as part of the 2025 Victorian Transmission Plan.

Before being officially declared by the Minister for Energy and Resources, there will be a further chance to provide your feedback.

For more information, visit Engage Victoria.

Where is the zone?

The proposed North West Renewable Energy Zone includes parts of the Swan Hill, Gannawarra, Loddon and Buloke local government areas.

It is within the Registered Aboriginal Party boundaries of Wamba Wemba Aboriginal Corporation, Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation and across areas of Country to the east that do not have a formally recognised Traditional Owner group.

We aimed to carefully balance community concerns about the potential impacts of uncoordinated widespread development with developer interest and the pressing need to position renewable energy zones with access to strong wind and solar energy and near existing transmission lines.

In response to feedback that the size and generation capacity of renewable energy zones needed to provide more flexibility, a small change to the zone was made, expanding south-west along the Victoria to New South Wales Interconnector West (VNI West) corridor.

Map of the North West Renewable Energy Zone

How feedback shaped the zone

Community and industry views have been crucial to the design of the 2025 Victorian Transmission Plan.

VicGrid's role is to balance the need for new renewable projects that will deliver reliable and affordable power with a range of other factors, including how we minimise impacts on landholders, communities, agriculture, the environment and power bills.

Not all community or industry requests have been adopted.

The Victorian Transmission Plan reflects difficult choices, made by weighing up many factors to deliver a plan that best serves all Victorians.

What we heard through feedback

  • Protect important agricultural land.
  • Address concerns about widespread uncoordinated development, including cumulative impacts associated with the VNI West project.
  • Protect local wetlands and habitat for many species, including the wedge-tailed eagle.
  • Protect local lakes and forests, including Lake Meran and Leaghur State Park.
  • Strong opposition to renewable energy generation in parts of the broader region.
  • Some support to extend the renewable energy zone north of Kerang and calls from developers, landholders and local governments to increase the generation capacity of the zone to accommodate pipeline projects.

What we did

  • Avoided irrigated farmland along the Murray River.
  • Positioned the proposed renewable energy zone along an existing 220 kilovolt (kV) line.
  • Avoided areas of high environmental value, including rivers, lakes, wetland systems, parks and reserves, particularly near the Murray River, Koorangie Wildlife Reserve and Korrak Korrak Nature Conservation Reserve.
  • Sized and located the proposed zone to balance developer interest and community concerns.
  • Added a small expansion south-west along the VNI West corridor providing more options for future generation projects to connect to VNI West.
  • We recognise there are still rivers, lakes, wetland systems, parks and reserves within this zone that are not suitable for development. All of these will need to be carefully considered during project-level planning when assessing potential sites and designing projects.

To find out more, read the Proposed North West Renewable Energy Zone factsheet.

Next steps

Communities within proposed renewable energy zones can continue to provide feedback and seek more information about renewable energy zones, including through face-to-face meetings with VicGrid.

We will invite formal feedback about the proposed North West Renewable Energy Zone as part of the official declaration process.

There will be 6 weeks of consultation which will give landholders, communities and Traditional Owners another opportunity to provide feedback and shape decision-making. The timing for this will be announced in the coming weeks.

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Call us on 1800 418 341 or email vicgrid@deeca.vic.gov.au

Page last updated: 17/08/25