The final tower has been erected on EnergyConnect – Australia’s largest electricity transmission project being delivered by Transgrid in partnership with ElectraNet – a significant construction achievement that will bring New South Wales (NSW), Victoria (VIC) and South Australia (SA) a step closer to sharing more renewable energy across state borders as coal-fired generation phases out.
Transgrid and construction partner, Elecnor Australia, have completed the last of more than 1,500 towers at Bundure in the Riverina, finishing the 700 kilometre (km) backbone of the interconnector. Line stringing works have also wrapped up, with more than 10,000 km of high-voltage conductor installed across the route – enough cable to stretch from Sydney to Perth three times.
Gordon Taylor, Executive General Manager of Major Projects at Transgrid, shared that the project had reached about 90 per cent completion and remains on track to be finished in 2026.
“EnergyConnect is the first major transmission project to accelerate Australia’s renewable energy transition and will help strengthen the national grid and position NSW as a leader in clean energy,” he said.
“The project is part of our plan to give industry and consumers peace of mind as coal generation winds down in NSW, stabilising the grid at a time when reliability and affordability are national priorities.”
In total, 1,508 towers and monopoles have been erected from the SA border to Wagga Wagga and into VIC, using more than 46,000 tonnes of structural steel. At peak, up to 1,700 people were working in parallel across the 700 km corridor, making the final tower and completion of line stringing a significant logistical and engineering achievement.
Sustainability measures have also been embedded in the build. The project includes 733 guyed towers, which require around 21 per cent less steel and 15 per cent less concrete than conventional self-supporting structures, while low-carbon concrete has been used in all tower foundations.
EnergyConnect has also introduced the first Danubio towers to Australia, with 338 of the structures installed on the 500 kilovolt (kV) line between Bundure, near Coleambally, and Wagga Wagga. Each of these towers weighs around 60 tonnes and takes about 16 days to construct.
Beyond the transmission lines themselves, major substation works are nearing completion. The 159 km western section of the project, which elongates from Buronga in NSW to the SA border and Red Cliffs in VIC, has already been completed and energised, including one of the largest and most complex substations in the Southern Hemisphere. Construction of the Dinawan substation at Bundure is being finalised, and a major expansion of the Wagga Wagga substation has also been completed.
Felipe Delgado, EnergyConnect Project Director at Elecnor Australia, shared that the scale and complexity of the build made the milestone particularly special.
“Constructing more than 1,500 towers across 700 kilometres, often in remote terrain, has been an extraordinary achievement,” he said.
“This milestone showcases what can be accomplished when the client, delivery partner, industry and community work together towards a shared goal. EnergyConnect is a project of many firsts – from the introduction of Danubio 500 kV towers to Australia, to the use of low-carbon construction materials and our Legacy 100 workforce program to upskill the regional construction workforce.”
The project has also delivered a substantial economic boost to regional communities, with more than $264 million invested across 325 local businesses in the Riverina, Murray and Sunraysia regions.
Once fully commissioned, EnergyConnect is expected to play a critical role in supporting Australia’s energy transition by unlocking more renewable generation, improving system resilience and enabling power to flow more freely between the three states.
