To meet forecast growth in electricity demand in South East Queensland, Powerlink plans to construct a new 500kV transmission line between Springdale (near Gatton) and Blackwall (near Ipswich). The proposed new 500kV transmission line from Springdale to Blackwall is essential infrastructure that will ensure a safe, reliable and efficient supply of high voltage electricity is maintained well into the future.
Easements for this new transmission line were acquired over the past 20 years, and have also been identified in the South East Queensland Infrastructure Plan and Program since 2005.
The Springdale to Blackwall project has been submitted for Ministerial designation. The process of Ministerial designation serves as planning approval, which allows certain land or easements to be used for ‘community infrastructure’ purposes (electricity works) under the Sustainable Planning Act 2009. Prior to submitting its request for Ministerial designation, submissions from the community were also invited. These submissions were considered and responded to by Powerlink. A copy of each submission and response was also provided in the documentation submitted to the Minister responsible for considering the designation application.
The Ministerial designation process followed an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) undertaken by environmental consultants Parsons Brinckerhoff, which concluded that, provided Powerlink implements the recommendations outlined in the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and the associated Final Environmental Management Plan (EMP), there are no environmental, social or economic factors that would prevent the project from proceeding.
Separate to the Ministerial designation process, Powerlink recently updated its 2011 Annual Planning Report (APR) demand forecasts. This was undertaken to reflect the slower than previously forecast return to strong economic growth in Queensland, which has subsequently resulted in a slowdown in electricity demand growth. Forecasts continue to support the requirement for the 500kV transmission line; however the slower rate of growth means the timing for the Springdale to Blackwall project has been revised from 2014 to 2015. The updated electricity demand forecasts show Queensland is still expected to experience the highest growth in the National Electricity Market over the next 10 years, however growth has slowed compared to the previous forecast.
Project start Project finish
