"Meaningful engagement" now at heart of energy plans

Early and meaningful engagement is at the heart of a new approach to the roll out of renewable energy facilities across Victoria, according to the 2025 Victorian Transmission Plan just released. However, it might come as cold comfort for some who have grappled with what they view as having been an ad hoc approach and substandard consultation concerning affected communities, by applicants and government departments. Independent MP for Indi Helen Haines said the release of the transmission plan highlights both the challenges and opportunities of delivering renewable energy projects in regional Victoria. She said it reflects community concerns about the impact on farmland and the need for genuine engagement and local benefit. "It is encouraging to see VicGrid commit to stronger expectations for how developers engage with communities and deliver economic and social benefit as a benchmark for assessing applications - this is long overdue," Dr Haines said. "Where projects fall short of genuine engagement, regional communities risk being ignored and missing out on the lasting benefits these projects should deliver.” A solar facility application for Meadow Creek, near Wangaratta, is currently being assessed by the Minister for Planning Sonya Kilkenny, a proposed project that has unsettled some in the local community over the last two years. Rural City of Wangaratta Mayor Irene Grant said they are hopeful of getting a better understanding of the status of the the Meadow Creek application as well as the impact of this latest transmission plan next week. "Council’s concern is for the future of agricultural land, not only in our municipality, but across the whole of Victoria," Cr Grant said. "The renewable energy roll out should not ignore the importance of agriculture and the natural environment to the economic, environmental and social wellbeing of regional communities across Australia." Agriculture sector feedback is included in the transmission plan with three key organisations cited, including Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF), Dairy Australia, and Farmers for Climate Action (FCA). The VFF said it supported a just and market-driven transition to renewable energy, provided it respected agricultural production and was based on genuine commercial consent from landholders. It noted farmland was a critical national asset — not surplus land for infrastructure highlighting the 2024 Parliamentary Inquiry into securing Victoria’s food supply, which warned of the risks to local food security if farmland was not protected. The VFF stressed that any renewable energy infrastructure must deliver tangible benefits to local communities and criticised recent transmission planning as unjust and strategically flawed, arguing that rural landholders were being asked to bear disproportionate burdens while receiving minimal benefit. The 2025 Victorian Transmission Plan has been developed through extensive consultation and sets out the transmission infrastructure the state needs to build over the next 15 years to deliver reliable and affordable energy to Victorian homes and businesses. The plan proposes the creation of six renewable energy zones (REZs) that signal to the community, landholders and industry where wind and solar projects and batteries for storage should be developed. It's important to note that North East Victoria is not one of these six zones, however, that does not currently exclude renewable energy facilities being built in this region. VicGrid chief executive Alistair Parker said VicGrid had carefully considered all the feedback it received from the community, regional stakeholders, Traditional Owners and the agriculture and energy industries in preparing the plan. “The Victorian Transmission Plan will ensure an orderly energy transition and has been designed through consultation to minimise impacts on landholders, regional communities and crucial regional industries like agriculture,” he said. “VicGrid has worked hard to balance a range of factors as we make difficult decisions about where energy infrastructure is needed to deliver reliable and affordable power to Victorian homes, businesses and industry.” In response to feedback following the release of the draft Victorian Transmission Plan in May, VicGrid has adjusted the size and shape of renewable energy zones and refined some of its transmission projects. Some areas have been removed from or added to zones, and new separate sections have been added in the South West REZ and Central North REZ. Mr Parker said feedback from communities and regional stakeholders about sensitive areas, including new information about brolga habitats and irrigated agricultural land, had resulted in a number of areas being removed from the renewable energy zones. He said there was also clear feedback from industry stakeholders about the size of zones. “Industry stakeholders consistently told us the size of zones and the amount of energy generated from each zone needed to be at a level that enabled the development of technically and commercially viable renewable projects,” he said. To read the 2025 Victorian Transmission Plan and supporting documents, visit VicGrid's website.

"Meaningful engagement" now at heart of energy plans

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