Victoria Coalition promises quick review of transmission plans, as it soft pedals stance on renewables - Renew Economy

Victoria's Coalition has committed to a quick review of the state's transmission expansion plans, while retreating from its earlier opposition to renewable energy. The party signalled it would not reverse the state's renewable energy targets if elected, though it flagged concerns about the pace and cost of transmission infrastructure needed to support the transition.

Where this fits

This is a policy capitulation that papers over Victoria's transmission problem rather than solving it. A renewables-only grid requires a transmission overbuild: when wind and solar are weather-dependent, you need extra lines to move power from distant generation to demand centres, and standby capacity to firm the gaps. A faster review does not change the physics. The Coalition's soft-pedal on renewables, accepting the targets rather than challenging them, means accepting the transmission bill that comes with them, without the firm dispatchable backbone that would shrink it. This is the whole-system cost pressure: the harder you lean on weather-dependent generation, the larger the grid you must build to make it work.

What it means

Victoria is now locked into a high-cost, high-transmission-intensity pathway by consent of both major parties. Neither is asking whether firm, energy-dense generation, nuclear is the only viable candidate, might meet the same emissions target at lower total cost and with less land and materials. A transmission review that does not revisit the generation mix is a review that accepts the cost but not the logic. For energy security, this matters: a grid that depends on long-distance renewable flows and China-sourced batteries for firming is a grid vulnerable to supply-chain disruption and weather coincidence alike.