The Victorian Transmission Plan

VicGrid has released the first strategic long-term plan for renewable energy zones and transmission infrastructure in Victoria.

The 2025 Victorian Transmission Plan marks an important step in the state’s renewable energy transition. It sets out the new energy infrastructure we need to keep Victoria's lights on as coal-fired power stations close.

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.

It will also provide long-term certainty for industry to invest in and deliver the renewable energy Victoria needs.

What's in the 2025 Victorian Transmission Plan

The 2025 Victorian Transmission Plan outlines a coordinated approach to developing energy generation and transmission infrastructure to meet our needs over the next 15 years.

It sets out:

• Proposed renewable energy zones: The 6 areas across the state most suitable to host new renewable energy generation, such as wind turbines and solar farms.
• A proposed Gippsland Shoreline Renewable Energy Zone: A limited area where offshore wind developers will need to locate infrastructure such as underground cables to connect offshore wind farms to the grid. This zone is not designed to host onshore generation such as wind turbines or solar farms.
• Transmission network upgrades: Proposed transmission projects needed from 2025-2040. The projects range from upgrades within existing terminal stations to reconstruction of existing transmission infrastructure and 4 new transmission projects.

VicGrid has developed the Victorian Transmission Plan using a new approach that considers community and environmental factors from the start of the process, along with analysis and technical work.

This is a big change to how energy infrastructure has been planned in the past.

Our 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.

The Agriculture Renewable Energy Compatibility Study outlines the findings of this work.

This report is an early step in building a knowledge base on the relationship between agriculture and renewable energy in Victoria.

VicGrid invites suggestions from stakeholders on how we can build on this report through future engagement and research.

Find out more about the renewable energy compatibility study on the Engage Victoria website.

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

There will be a formal process for the Minister for Energy and Resources to declare renewable energy zones.

This will include 6 weeks of consultation, scheduled to take place in the coming weeks, when landholders, communities and Traditional Owners will have opportunity to provide feedback and shape decision-making.