Overview
- AEMO’s refreshed roadmap identifies the need for roughly 6,000 kilometres of new transmission to connect remote renewables to population centres.
- Key grid links are running late and over budget, with VNI West, EnergyConnect and Marinus Link all facing multi‑year delays and large cost escalations.
- The plan says persistent delivery lags could lift the price tag of major generation, storage and transmission projects by up to 30%, ultimately flowing through to consumer bills.
- AEMO has updated its outlook to reflect Queensland’s decision to keep coal plants operating to 2049, pushing out the national coal retirement profile.
- Research cited in the coverage highlights an approvals bottleneck, with only one of 89 eastern seaboard projects requiring federal environmental clearance approved since 2023.