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Overview

The Powerlink-led CopperString 2032 project, formerly known as CopperString 2.0, initially involves building 840km of new electricity transmission line from just south of Townsville in the Burdekin region to Mount Isa that will connect Queensland’s North West Minerals Province (NWMP) to the National Electricity Market for the first time in Australia’s history. Approximately 200km of additional transmission line will be required to connect new renewable generators to CopperString.

The overall expanded project has a budget of $5 billion and includes:

  • 500 kilovolt (kV) transmission line from just south of Townsville to Hughenden
  • 330kV transmission line from Hughenden to Cloncurry
  • 220kV transmission line from Cloncurry to Mount Isa
  • up to six new substation sites
  • workforce accommodation and facilities in strategic locations along the corridor.

Powerlink commenced early works on the project in 2023 ahead of construction in mid-2024. The project is expected to be completed by 2029.

Get involved

Powerlink is committed to ongoing genuine and timely engagement to ensure we deliver positive outcomes for landholders, local communities, other stakeholders and the environment where our transmission infrastructure is located. 

We will promote opportunities for participation ahead of time and encourage local communities to get involved as the project progresses. 

Share your views with Powerlink via our feedback form

COMMUNITY INFORMATION DROP-IN SESSIONS – HUGHENDEN

The CopperString 2032 project team is hosting community information drop-in sessions in Hughenden during March 2024.

Come along to learn more about the proposed Hughenden workforce accommodation and facilities, next steps and how you can provide feedback.

Please note each session runs for a few hours so you can drop in at a time that’s convenient for you. There is no formal presentation.

Tuesday 19 March | 4pm-7pm | Diggers Entertainment Centre | 21 Brodie Street, Hughenden

Wednesday 20 March | 9am-12pm | Diggers Entertainment Centre | 21 Brodie Street, Hughenden

If you’re unable to attend in person, please contact us on 1800 635 369 or email [email protected].

Local supplier opportunities 

Powerlink values the relationship CopperString 2032 has with local and Indigenous suppliers and will work with our construction contractor, the UGL CPB Contractors Joint Venture, to ensure full, fair and reasonable opportunities are made available on the project. 

In late 2023 Powerlink held two engagement roadshows across the project corridor including a series of presentations aimed at local and Indigenous suppliers.  

Industry briefings took place in Mount Isa, Cloncurry, Julia Creek, Richmond, Hughenden, Charters Towers, Ayr and Townsville. More than 600 people attended to learn how they could potentially be involved in the project. 

In addition, the project team began testing supplier capability and capacity in late 2023. This process started with opening 50 works packages on ICN Gateway and encouraging Expressions of Interest (EOI) during October and November. We received approximately 450 EOIs during this time. 

Supplier information was also gathered in January and February 2024 to further develop our understanding of the local market and capability.  

Thank you to the suppliers who registered their interest and were entered into the CopperString 2032 supplier register. 

This register will be used to share information about project procurement, upcoming opportunities and how to develop business capability and capacity.  

Please note our current EOI period has closed, and supplier details have been provided to the UGL CPB Contractors Joint Venture to assist with project estimations and planning supplier opportunities. 

We expect to host additional supplier information sessions and promote opportunities for businesses to register their interest in the coming months, if they haven’t already done so.  

In the meantime, please send your business details and any relevant information such as capability statements by clicking on the link below. 

Register Local & Indigenous Supplier Interest

Powerlink strongly encourages local businesses, Indigenous enterprises and social ventures to apply. 

All businesses will need to undergo a prequalification process to be considered for procurement. 

For more information about the project's Australian Industry Participation Plan please contact us via 1800 635 369 or email [email protected].

Status

We are continuing to work alongside the State and Federal governments to progress project approvals and have submitted an application to the Queensland Coordinator-General to change the location of the previously evaluated workforce accommodation and facilities in Hughenden.

This involves relocating the site from north of Hughenden on Flynn Street to south of Hughenden on the Flinders Highway. Both sites are Queensland Government owned and held in trust by Flinders Shire Council.

The new workforce accommodation and facilities are proposed to typically accommodate between 400-450 people (with a periodic peak of 550) and will include the workforce required to build the Flinders Substation and transmission line. 

The Queensland Coordinator-General invites you to comment on our application for project change which is available:

Please send your comments to the Coordinator-General:

  • online at https://haveyoursay.dsd.qld.gov.au
  • via email [email protected]
  • by post to the Coordinator-General, c/ Project Manager, CopperString 2032 – Hughenden workers accommodation camp, Project Evaluation and Facilitation, Office of the Coordinator-General, PO Box 15517, City East, Queensland 4002.

Comments are invited from Monday 18 March 2024 and close on Friday 12 April 2024.

The transmission line from south of Townsville to Hughenden is now planned to be constructed at 500kV instead of 330kV. This will allow increased access to renewable generation in the Flinders Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) which has the potential to be one of the largest REZs in Australia.   

This connection forms part of the Queensland SuperGrid which will allow a planned and cohesive approach to the transition to renewable energy within Queensland and forms part of the Queensland Jobs and Energy Plan.  

PROJECT APPROVALS

Since Powerlink took over the project in March 2023, the transmission line design and supporting infrastructure have been refined. As a result, the project’s existing environmental approvals may need to be reviewed.

Significant work is currently underway to support the project’s final statutory approvals.

We anticipate preparatory infrastructure, including workforce accommodation and facilities in Hughenden and Richmond, will be assessed by the Queensland Coordinator-General and progressed under a works regulation amendment.

This will be followed by State and Federal Government assessment of the transmission infrastructure and remaining workforce accommodation and facilities.

Following statutory approvals, it is expected that additional planning and approvals for the delivery of CopperString 2032 will proceed via the Queensland Minister for State Development and Infrastructure under the Ministerial Infrastructure Designation (MID) process. This process is managed by the Department of State Development and Infrastructure (DSDI) with input from other government agencies. 

We expect to lodge several MID proposals and have undertaken preliminary engagement with impacted landholders, communities and other stakeholders to ensure anyone with an interest in the project is given an opportunity to provide initial feedback before proposals are lodged.   

Following lodgement of each MID proposal, the Minister for State Development and Infrastructure will initiate consultation by writing to relevant local governments and impacted landholders to invite submissions.  

During this time, Powerlink will also undertake public consultation with landholders, community members and other key stakeholders to share project information and how to make a submission to DSDI.  

Early works 

Powerlink signed off on a $20 million early works package with CIMIC Group companies UGL and CPB Contractors in June 2023.  

This package is focused on progressing the project’s detailed engineering design, field and geotechnical surveys and geotechnical works.

At the same time, work is continuing on field and geotechnical investigations, cultural heritage and ecological surveys, stakeholder engagement and landholder consultation.
 

Project background

To date, work has focused on progressing transmission line design, statutory approvals and engagement with landholders and other key stakeholders along the proposed alignment.

The project was declared a ‘coordinated project’ by the Queensland Coordinator-General in April 2019 under the State Development and Public Works Organisation Act 1971 and a controlled action under the Australian Government’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) in May 2019.

An Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) contract for the project was awarded to CIMIC Group companies UGL and CPB Contractors in March 2021 following public consultation on the project’s draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) between December 2020 and February 2021.

The ECI phase of the project includes scoping, designing, site investigations and pricing.

The project’s EIS was approved to proceed, with conditions, by the Queensland Coordinator-General in September 2022 and referred to the Australian Government for approval.

A delegate for the Australian Minister for the Environment and Water approved the ‘CopperString Transmission Line Project’ as a controlled action under the EPBC Act subject to conditions in November 2022.

Powerlink took ownership of the project from Townsville-based CuString Pty Ltd in March 2023 and is now leading delivery of the project to completion.

On 30 October 2023 the Queensland Government announced $1.3 billion to advance the construction of CopperString 2032.

This funding will help get the project ready to break ground in mid-2024.

Details

Northern

Transmission Lines

Construction

Substation

Renewables

In Progress

Map

CopperString 2032 Timeline

2019

Concept assessment

2019-2022

Reference design

2022

Statutory approvals CopperString 2.0

mid-2023

Start of early works

mid-2023

Statutory approvals CopperString 2032 (expanded project)

mid-2023 to mid-2024

MID process

2023-2024

Detailed design and early works

2024-2029

Construction

2029

Connect to National Electricity Market

from 2029

Operations

Full timeline

Contact

Ian Lowry

Ian Lowry

Executive GM Major Projects
1800 635 369

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