The Humelink transmission line does not connect a single large city.
Just another hidden renewable subsidy.
Boy O boy, that bill blew out fast:
Households could be up for $2b electricity transmission cost blowout
Peter Hannan, Sydney Morning Herald
Transgrid now expects its proposed HumeLink – a 500-kilovolt line connecting Wagga Wagga, Bannaby and Maragle – to cost $3.317 billion, up from $1.35 billion estimated in January 2020. That would make it “by far the most expensive transmission project” in Australia, said Bruce Mountain, director of the Victoria Energy Policy Centre…
NSW Households will be forced to pay $60 per year above their already-inflated-costs whether they want renewable energy or think windmills are a bird-killing, shamanistic health-hazard that won’t stop storms, floods or droughts any better than crystal shields do.
We can see why the government won’t let people choose to buy green power voluntarily.
Transgrid said the steel and materials costs more, but wow, golly, there was also a bill for “environmental offsets” through the Kosciuszko national park of an eye-watering, wait for it, $935 million. Perhaps they are transplanting the trees they cut down, and rehoming the eagles?
The new transmission line will decrease the property value of houses nearby but make it “economic” for wind and solar plants to operate. Remember costs are for consumers, profits are for the unreliables industry.
Welcome to Renewables-World where we spend $3.3b to get half a billion in benefits:
HumeLink claimed in its submission to the Australian Energy Regulator in July that the project would have a net benefit of $491 million for consumers. That sum excluded a price on carbon emissions avoided from fossil fuel plants and gains created in regional towns from the major construction.
Since cutting carbon emissions is a net loss (less fertilizer for crops) the gains in regional towns amounts to paying people to bury bottles of cash.
Even Snowy Hydro is not impressed, with a spokesman saying:
“Why would Snowy Hydro pay for transmission lines that connect 20,000 megawatts of wind and solar to close to 12 million Australians?” he said, referring to Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide users.
Another transmission line through Victoria — VNI-West (formerly KerangLink), will connect Ballarat to Wagga and has also had costs blow out from $2.4 billion to $4 billion.
Obviously all that money could have been spend on a new advanced ultra supercritical coal plant (or two) with a tiny environmental footprint, no need for mega transmission lines, pumped dam storage, stabilizers, or synchronous condensers and they could have produced continuous cheap electricity for 70 years or until nuclear fusion reactors make them outdated.
Japan is building 45 HELE coal plants Australia is building none, even though they might reduce emissions by 15 – 50% and have none of the problems and costs that plague the unreliables.
As I said in 2017:
“Japan needs to import 95% of its energy. Australia is the [second] largest exporter of coal in the world, and has the largest known uranium resources in the world, but we voluntarily wear a hair shirt to appease GAIA. We sacrifice our cheap energy advantage for fear that loud ill-mannered people who are bad at maths will call us selfish and uncaring.”
*Typo half a million should be half a billion. corrected. h/t melbourne resident. Apologies!