North West Transmission Developments

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.

Thank you to the many contractors that registered their interest in TasNetworks’ North West Transmission Developments (NWTD) project. A formal Expression of Interest (EOI) has now been issued to eight proponents. The purpose of the EOI is to shortlist proponents for invitation to the final procurement stage - Request For Proposals (RFP).

TasNetworks is looking to appoint a single Head Contractor that possesses and demonstrates strong capability, resources and experience to deliver the scope of works to the satisfaction of TasNetworks.

The successful Head Contractor will be supported and encouraged to engage local contractors and suppliers in order to maximise spend and employment in the region, and in Tasmania generally.

The NWTD project is subject to final investment decision (FID), currently scheduled for December 2024. It is anticipated that main construction activities will commence in early 2025, following FID approval.

The Lions Club of Kentish was recently provided with a community grant through the NWTD project to support the School Breakfast Club program and provide Care Packages to the elderly in the region.

Once a week, volunteers from the Lions Club of Kentish prepare breakfast for some of the students at the Railton and Sheffield campuses. The program has been running for over four years and has many benefits.

"No child is singled out and all are invited to partake," said Lion Jan Crosswell from the Lions Club of Kentish.

"There is a lot of interaction between our members and the children, with mental wellbeing of both the children and volunteers improving."

Jan also reported that the Care Packs that they recently distributed in the community were very well received. The packs comprised of stationary, hand sanitiser, tissues, tea bags and coffee, sweets and a contact number for anyone needing help.

We're proud to be able to support these important initiatives that help brighten someone's day and make a positive difference in the community.

Helicopter surveying of eagle nest activity are scheduled to undertaken on Monday, 31 October (weather dependent). There are 13 known eagle nests that will be assessed along the proposed North West Transmission Developments route.

The surveying team will follow a strict methodology for carrying out the assessment. This includes all observers including the pilot undertaking a full sky sweep for any eagles in flight of the vicinity starting from 2km of the approach to the nest.

If an eagle is spotted its behaviour will be observed. Behaviours such as 'pot hooking', extended talons, or flying in the direction of the helicopter are indicators of aggression from the eagle(s). Should this occur the nest will be considered active by default and will not be approached.

If there are no signs of this behaviour as the helicopter nears the nest a quiet approach will be taken at a speed of 40 knots. Where a nest cannot be seen on a single pass the location of the nest will be circled no more than twice.

To reduce disturbance as much as possible the helicopter will not hover or be within the vicinity of a nest for any longer than 30 seconds.

During transit between nests the helicopter will fly at a minimum altitude of 1,000ft observing those land parcels registered as 'Do Not Fly' and 'If Cattle Do Not Fly'.

It is expected that the surveying will take half a day.

The end of the year is fast approaching and with it some key milestones in the design and approvals phase are coming closer to being realised.

Approvals update – Staverton to Hampshire Hills

Preparation of the Development Application and Environmental Impact Statement for Staverton to Hampshire Hills is well underway.

These two documents will form one consolidated 'application' that will enable the Tasmanian Planning Commission to assess the environmental, social and economic aspects of the project against the project assessment criteria and determine whether approvals will be granted and what conditions will be applied to allow the project to proceed to the construction phase.

The application is informed by a range of investigations and assessments that are being undertaken within the proposed transmission corridor.

Some of the investigations and assessments that are undertaken for the application include aboriginal and historic heritage, ecology, geology and geomorphology, noise and vibration, landscape and visual, social and economic as well as traffic and transport.

While a lot of the investigation work is now complete we still have some more surveying work to do.

We look forward to sharing the findings of the investigations with you through information sessions early next year. Keep an eye out in our upcoming newsletters to find out where and when we will be holding the sessions.

The Development Application along with the Environmental Impact Statement is expected to be submitted to the Tasmanian Planning Commission in early 2023.

Once the application is submitted, the community will be provided with a formal opportunity to make a written submission on the application when it is placed on public exhibition.

Notified Corridor - Staverton to Hampshire Hills

Another upcoming key milestone in the project is the making of the 'notified corridor'. The making of a 'notified corridor' is required as part of the assessment under the Major Infrastructure Development Approvals Act 1999.

The main purpose of putting a notified corridor in place is to ensure any future developments do not prevent the project from going ahead while it is in the approvals phase.

The notified corridor has been informed by 18 months of engagement with landowners, community and stakeholders, as well as the extensive program of site investigations which have helped us minimise impacts on the environment, areas of cultural sensitivity and the community.

If you would like to know more about these major project milestones email nwtd@tasnetworks.com.au.

Businesses are invited to register their interest in TasNetworks’ North West Transmission Developments (NWTD) project via the ICN Gateway.

The NWTD and Marinus Link will deliver significant economic benefits by creating 1,400 jobs at peak construction and $1.4 billion in economic stimulus in Tasmania. The projects will unlock a pipeline of future renewable energy generation developments that are estimated to provide an additional 2,350 jobs at peak construction and add a further $5.7 billion to the Tasmanian economy.

The NWTD is subject to final investment decision (FID), currently scheduled for December 2024. Procurement activities have commenced with a Registration of Interest closing on 22 August 2022. It is anticipated that construction activities will commence in 2024, following FID.

The intent is to appoint a single Head Contractor to deliver the scope of works. TasNetworks will encourage and support the successful Head Contractor to engage local contractors and suppliers, in order to maximise spend and employment in the region.

To find out more and register your interest for any of the likely categories of project spend, please visit our ICN project portal.

TasNetworks is seeking your feedback to help shape a proposed community benefits sharing program (CBSP) for the North West Transmission Developments (NWTD). Have your say here.

The environmental, land-use planning and heritage impact assessment and approvals process for the proposed North West Transmission Developments is progressing.

TasNetworks has submitted two new referrals to the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Water and Energy under the Environmental Protection, Biodiversity and Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).

The referral application numbers are:

· Sheffield to Staverton Upgrades - 2022/09248

· Remaining North West Transmission Developments - 2022/09247

If you'd like to know more about TasNetworks' applications, what they cover and why they were made, you can read more on our website here.