North West Transmission Developments

The North West Transmission Developments was a proud gold sponsor of the recent Taste of the North West event held in Sheffield on Sunday 12 March.

Supporting regional events such as this promotes community engagement and connectedness, and in this instance provided an opportunity to showcase the region’s finest food and beverages!

The NWTD project team attended the event and had a great day sharing information about the project with the local community and answering any questions.

NWTD - Upcoming Engagement

North West EcoFest
Sat 1st April 2023, 9:30am - 3:00pm
Camp Clayton, 41 Clayton Rd, Ulverstone

You can catch us at a number of events across the North West region in the coming months. We would love to answer any questions you may have and hear your thoughts on the project.

Do you have an event or activity you'd like us to attend? Please contact us at NWTD@tasnetworks.com.au

Cultural heritage assessments are one of the many tasks underway to better understand the impacts of the North West Transmission Developments. In January, an Aboriginal cultural heritage survey was conducted as part of the NWTD planning and approvals process. TasNetworks contracted registered Aboriginal Heritage Officers and qualified archaeologists from Cultural Heritage Management Australia (CHMA) to carry out the investigations.

The survey focussed on areas of known significance to the Tasmanian Aboriginal community, identified as a result of existing data, engagement with the Tasmanian Aboriginal community and as determined by the Aboriginal Heritage Officers. The survey looked at areas where towers are proposed to be located and assessed the likelihood of Aboriginal artefacts and significant landscape features within those locations. The survey involved hand excavation of sites and searching through the soil at specific depths to see if cultural heritage material was present in those areas.

These surveys are ongoing and will culminate in a report containing specific recommendations in order to avoid and mitigate impacts to Aboriginal heritage. The report will be provided to the Tasmanian Planning Commission to inform its decision making process and assessment against the project guidelines and in accordance with the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1975. Once complete, TasNetworks will also share the top-line findings of this study and other key technical studies with stakeholders and the community.

Recently as part of the NWTD procurement process, a short-listed group of seven Expression of Interest (EOI) Head Contractor proponents visited sites along the proposed NWTD route. The purpose of the site visits was to give proponents a first-hand understanding of the project’s scale, scope, diverse nature and key opportunities.

Over three days, the group visited the proposed switching station sites and existing substations where upgrade works are required, in addition to various transmission sites where old towers need to be dismantled and/or new towers erected.

Transmission tower site visits included remote and steep sites only accessible via 4WD through to flat paddocks adjacent to sealed roads and sites in urban settings. The group also viewed various road crossing points (including the Bass Highway) where the head contractor will be responsible for traffic management.

This is the second stage of a multi-stage tender process which closes in mid-March 2023. Three to four proponents will be further shortlisted for the final procurement stage - Request for Proposals. We intend to release the Request for Proposal (RFP) mid-May which will close by mid-October. The procurement strategy for the NWTD project favours the appointment of a single head contractor for delivering the entire project scope to the satisfaction of TasNetworks.

This month, TasNetworks conducted eagle nest aerial inspections to locate wedge-tailed eagle and white-bellied sea eagle nests in the vicinity of the proposed North West Transmission Developments route.

TasNetworks uses standardised eagle nest survey methods guided by the Forest Practices Authority. These checks are crucial for gathering information as part of the environmental and social impact assessment process.

Project Director Damian Vermey said that whilst the helicopter surveying can be disruptive, it is essential that we locate the nests,

“Knowing where the eagle nests are is vital for planning the final transmission route. We avoid placing infrastructure where nests are located and use survey results to plan construction activities so that we can avoid disturbing the eagles, particularly during breeding season, should the NWTD be approved.”

The latest survey campaign has been particularly valuable in identifying new nests.

“We were able to locate 11 new nests along the route between Hampshire to Burnie, then through to Poatina.”

Precautionary protocols are followed and surveys are conducted outside of the breeding season to minimise impacts on eagles.

Surveying will re-commence ahead of breeding season and we will advise communities when and where this will be happening closer to the time.

Any new eagle nests located are registered in the Tasmanian Natural Values Atlas database.

For more information please visit the eagle nest survey FAQs page

The North West Transmission Developments Engagement Report (July-Dec 2022) is now available and provides an outline of the engagement activities that were carried out between July and December 2022 for the NWTD.

You can read the full report here

The NWTD Stakeholder Liaison Group recently held its first meeting in February for 2023 and welcomed new members. The Group includes key stakeholders representing industry groups, peak bodies, not-for-profits, education, skills and training sectors and state government organisations. Stakeholder perspectives and feedback are sought on a range of matters related to the NWTD, including economic development opportunities, procurement, community benefits sharing and environmental approvals.

Minutes from each meeting are published to the TasNetworks website:

NWTD Stakeholder Liaison Group - TasNetworks

NWTD - Upcoming Engagement

You can catch us at a number of events across the North West region in the coming months. We would love to answer any questions you may have and hear your thoughts on the project.

Do you have an event or activity you'd like us to attend? Please contact us at NWTD@tasnetworks.com.au

Taste of the North West
Sun 12th March 2023, 11:00am - 4:00pm
King George V Park, 62 High St, Sheffield

North West EcoFest
Sat 1st April 2023, 9:30am - 3:00pm
Camp Clayton, 41 Clayton Rd, Ulverstone

Marinus Link and NWTD – Upcoming Engagement

Burnie
When: Friday, 17 March – 2:00 - 4:00pm
When: Saturday, 18 March – 10:00am - 12:00pm
Where: Future Energy Hub, Cradle Coast Authority, 1-3 Spring Street, Burnie

During the month of November, twelve of our NWTD team members participated in Movember, growing some impressive mos and together raising over $9,000 for men's health.

Men are dying on average 5 years earlier than women and for largely preventable reasons. Movember is the leading charity changing the face of men's heath, funding 1,250 men's health projects around the world - in particular focusing on suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer.

Watch the 7News story here: https://youtu.be/DlChX5Yssrk?t=649

Information and resources can be found on the Movember website: https://au.movember.com/

The NWTD team along with Marinus Link and the Industry Capability Network met with Tasmanian businesses at a Meet the Projects event in Burnie earlier this month. The team spent a sunny afternoon chatting with local businesses about the exciting opportunities for local suppliers of goods and services to work with these major infrastructure projects.

Engaging local suppliers is a priority, with opportunities ranging from accommodation and catering to civil construction and fencing.

Tasmanian businesses are encouraged to register their interest through the Industry Capability Network portal - using the links below:

NWTD ICN Portal | Marinus Link ICN Portal

The Commonwealth Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment, and Water (DCCEEW) assessment team visited a number of key sections of the NWTD project last month.

The Australian Government is required to assess the Development Application and Environmental Impact Statement for the NWTD as the project relates to Matters of National Environmental Significance under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

The tour was led by Gina Goodman, Environment, Planning and Heritage Approvals Lead and Sarel Marias, Transmission Lines Engineer.

The group started the tour at the Sheffield Switching Station, before moving on to the Loongana Valley and then Mt Montgomery Reserve.

“The DCCEEW assessment team found the visit to the Loongana Valley really valuable as it gave them a good idea of the current and constantly changing landscape of the area,” said Gina.

“And we were able to show the assessment team an example of how the remaining NWTD alignment limits its impacts when we visited Mt Montgomery Reserve.”

The Development Application and Environmental Impact Statement for the NWTD is expected to be submitted to the Tasmanian Planning Commission and the Commonwealth for assessment in 2023.