‘Concrete desert’ fears over Osborne shipyard power plan
Plans to relocate a major electricity corridor to power AUKUS are under the microscope as locals raise fears over tree felling and impacts on nearby dolphins.
Lefevre Peninsula’s power station will be reconfigured to support the $30 billion nuclear-powered submarine construction yard in Adelaide’s north-west with concerns being raised over trees being felled for the project and its impact on local dolphins.
The plans include removing five steel transmission towers, expanding the existing Pelican Point substation and building a new substation – and they are being assessed by SA’s Planning Commission on Wednesday.
The works by Electranet would manage power across a 275,000-volt transmission grid on behalf of Australian Naval Infrastructure (ANI), the national defence group building the construction yard.
Electranet declined to comment on the project when contacted by InDaily.
But local environment groups were worried about 37 trees being felled and have raised concerns about potential run-off in the Port River and the neighbouring Mutton Cove, a 48-hectare conservation reserve. Concerns refuted by the Housing and Urban Development Department.
Mutton Cove is part of the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary about seven kilometres north of Port Adelaide and includes salt marsh and grey mangroves.
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During the planning consultation, community groups and the Port Adelaide Enfield Council warned that trenching, earthworks, and removing the existing two towers in Mutton Cove could wash sediment, heavy metals, and site pollutants into the Port River during heavy rain or high tides, affecting dolphin health.
In a letter, the Friends of Port River and the Port Adelaide Resident’s Environment Protection Group expressed concerns about “wholesale destruction of many native species in the area”.
“The whole defence area is becoming transformed into a concrete desert,” the Port Adelaide Resident’s Environment Protection Group wrote.
ANI has said the AUKUS submarine construction yard would cost more than $30 billion, and in September, the federal government announced a further $4.6 billion to support building the construction yard, bringing the taxpayer contribution in the project to about $8.5 billion so far.
The shipyard is expected to be complete and deliver its first boat in 2040, but it needs the power works to enable the construction to get underway.
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InDaily understands the project will reconfigure existing power infrastructure on the peninsula and is not expected to increase SA’s peak electricity demand, with no impact on other South Australian electricity consumers.
Housing and Urban Development Department senior Planner Fiona Sellick wrote that concerns from environmental groups seemed to be “based on a misunderstanding”.
“The development will reduce the long-term infrastructure footprint within the conservation area,” Sellick said.
“The new substation is located within an already disturbed interface between utility infrastructure and industrial development. It is not located within an intact or high-value part of the Mutton Cove Conservation Reserve.
“Impacts on the environmental values of Mutton Cove are therefore limited. They can be managed through the proposed environmental management framework.”
Sellick said the trees in the area were “not regulated or significant trees worthy of retention and are therefore suitable for removal”.
The plans are recommended to be approved by the state’s planning commission assessment panel on Wednesday.
Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis was contacted for comment.
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