Green goal in doubt as Victoria pauses $1.5b cable - afr.com

Victoria has paused a $1.5 billion interconnector cable that was intended to import renewable energy from New South Wales. The decision follows a review of the project's cost and timeline. No restart date has been announced.

Where this fits

This is a cost and timeline problem, not a renewable-versus-coal problem. The pause signals that the all-renewables pathway, as currently planned, relies on infrastructure projects that cannot stay on schedule or budget. Interconnectors are essential to a high-renewable grid: they move power from where it is generated to where it is needed, and they are part of the whole-system cost that grid-transition modelling often treats as an afterthought. When they slip, the cost of firming capacity and storage rises, and the case for firm dispatchable power strengthens relative to the models.

What it means

Australia's grid is becoming more dependent on cross-border power flows to meet reliability standards. Delays to interconnectors mean either longer reliance on incumbent fossil-fuel plants beyond their planned closure dates, or heavier investment in batteries and other storage whose own cost and supply-chain risks are already under strain. The pause also underlines a procedural risk: major transmission assets now face cost blowouts and timeline slippage as a matter of course. Grid reliability cannot wait for these projects to eventually complete. The honest assessment is that the all-renewables model works only if interconnectors work on time and on budget. They are not.