saveeumundi.org

Re: Unsustainable Development in Noosa Biosphere – Powerlink’s 275kV Transmission Line and Substation Project 

Dear Minister,

The purpose of this letter is to bring to your attention the alternative proposal which P.A.G.E. has submitted to Parsons Brinkerhoff (PB) and Powerlink Qld. The P.A.G.E. proposal not only minimises the impact both environmentally and socially, but is significantly cheaper by $70.2m.

This ‘common sense’ approach is endorsed by the Noosa Biosphere Reserve governance board.  The Noosa Biosphere is Queensland’s first Man and Biosphere Reserve and is severely impacted by Powerlink’s proposal.  Noosa Biosphere joins PAGE in asking that you appoint an independent party to examine all alternatives as a matter of urgency. 

Background:

Powerlink currently has a $110m project to construct a new 275kV transmission line from Woolooga to Eerwah Vale, which is in the final stages of preparing to seek Ministerial designation for community infrastructure. Powerlink state that 90% of the line will use an existing easement, but the other 10% requires a new easement.

The purpose of this project is to reinforce the existing 132kV Energex double circuit power lines between  (i) Woolooga and Gympie, and (ii) between Gympie and Cooroy.

Powerlink claim this project will provide the additional power to beyond 2050 for the Gympie, Tin Can Bay and north Sunshine Coast areas without further upgrades and expenditure in that period.

The residents of Ridgewood and Eerwah Vale represented by the action group P.A.G.E. do not object in principle to upgrading or reinforcing electricity supply. However, the community (including the Sunshine Coast Regional Council) strongly oppose the route chosen by Powerlink as it violates and destroys a critical portion of Noosa Biosphere’s pristine wildlife habitat. The clearing of a 60m wide easement and significant additional 8m wide access tracks through steep inaccessible old growth forest will cause erosion and fragment wildlife corridors, especially for the healthy resident koala population.

P.A.G.E. has researched and developed lesser impact and lower cost alternatives utilising existing, common infrastructure corridors (ref. SEQIPP). P.A.G.E. has presented these alternatives to Powerlink and PB during the EIS and CID processes. PAGE has met with Powerlink Chief Executive Officer and requested community involvement in the alternatives assessment process – this has been ignored and it is P.A.G.E.’s opinion that Powerlink and PB have a clear conflict of interest in properly assessing the alternative proposals at this stage in the process. In short, Powerlink has their predetermined plan and do not intend to change it in spite of the P.A.G.E. alternatives meeting the requirements of security of supply at lower environmental, social and financial cost.

Solutions:  

The P.A.G.E. solution can be staged over different time frames. Initially, Powerlink need only spend approx. $1.5 million at this time which can delay the necessity of building new infrastructure in the short to medium term (to 2028), whilst overcoming the short term Energex 132kV network limitations. These limitations are prime drivers of Powerlink’s justification for their project.

This solution provides breathing space to give emerging low carbon technologies, strategies and government programs time to be developed and implemented (such as the Sunshine Coast Council’s Energy Transition Plan targeting 100MW of new capacity by 2020) thereby reducing the demand or need for additional major infrastructure such as Powerlink’s proposal. If by 2028 more powerlines are still required, P.A.G.E.’s solution utilises 97% existing infrastructure corridors, thereby minimising environmental damage. This option is $70.2m cheaper than the Powerlink proposal. This appraisal has been independently assessed using Performance Electrics Pty Ltd, Greystanes, NSW

Furthermore, the P.A.G.E. solutions avoid the irreparable damage to existing wildlife corridors, and in particular, to one of the last existing healthy colonies of koalas in the Noosa Biosphere. This is a direct impact on tourism’s ability to be sustainable and underpin economic survival of the eco-tourism market.  The governments own SEQ Catchment Report of 2010 identifies such damage as critical and immediate (>2020) with many billions in economic benefit stripped away due to the proliferation of utility corridors impacting local economies, agriculture, tourism and resultant social dysfunction.  Change to prevent this has to start somewhere.  We believe it is here where the line should be drawn.

Nevertheless, if it is the wish of government to spend money now on infrastructure, the community’s wish – this includes our local State representative and Council – is that this is not done at the expense of destroying this key environmental area in the Biosphere as there are lower impact and cheaper solutions, such as presented by P.A.G.E.

For this reason, the last 10% of the Powerlink project should utilise other existing, common infrastructure corridors such as the current Bruce Highway upgrade and railway easements, as has been done in numerous other projects across Queensland and Australia.

The P.A.G.E. network solution (injecting supply to the north of Cooroy) offers superior design for future network development and is based on using existing infrastructure corridors on 97% of the route minimising environmental impact. This alternative also costs significantly less, with projected savings of some $20m on a like-for-like basis. These savings are significant in the current financial climate and Powerlink has the obligation of providing power at the cheapest cost to the consumer.

How much support could be provided via the Premier’s flood relief fund via these savings, how many houses and businesses could benefit from such support?

Detailed documentation is available as and when required.

Yours sincerely,