Transgrid and its construction partner Elecnor Australia have completed construction of EnergyConnect’s Line 1, a double-circuit 330 kV transmission line stretching 135 km from Buronga, in south-western NSW, to the South Australian border.
“We are getting on with the job of delivering this nation-critical transmission infrastructure to enable energy sharing between NSW, South Australia and Victoria for the first time,” Transgrid Executive General Manager of Major Projects, Gordon Taylor, said “The interconnector will deliver cleaner, cheaper renewable energy to millions of customers and help achieve Australia’s emissions reduction targets.”
The construction carried out by more than 450 workers included:
· Construction of worker accommodation camps at Buronga and Renmark Road, equipment laydowns and access tracks
· The drilling and pouring of 1,366 concrete tower foundations
· The erection of 291 towers using 6,000 tons of steel
· The stringing of 1,900 km of conductor cabling, the equivalent distance of driving from Sydney to Brisbane and back again.
“The works have provided a significant economic boost to the Sunraysia region, with $71 million invested in businesses in the Wentworth and Mildura local government areas including Garraway Group and Mawsons Concrete,” Taylor added. “We have also achieved some significant sustainability goals, reducing vegetation clearing by 35% and installing 202 guyed towers which require 21% less steel and 15% less concrete to construct compared to conventional self-supporting structures.”
While construction of a substation in the Southern Hemisphere will be completed at Buronga soon, building of the three remaining lines is under process with the installation of 80 monopoles on the line from Buronga (NSW) to Red Cliffs (Victoria). Crews are drilling and pouring tower foundations on the two lines between Buronga and Wagga Wagga.
