CopperString Project

Project overview*

EIS status	Approved with conditions
Description	A high-voltage overhead electricity transmission line connecting the North West Power System to the state’s electricity grid.
Proponent	Queensland Electricity Transmission Corporation (T/a Powerlink Queensland)
Location/s	The transmission line would run from a new sub-station at Woodstock, south of Townsville, to the Chumvale sub-station, near Cloncurry. It would augment the powerline to Mount Isa and include a southern extension from Cloncurry to substations at Selwyn and Woodya. View map.
Local government/s	Mount Isa City Council Cloncurry Shire Council Mckinlay Shire Council Richmond Shire Council Burdekin Shire Council Charters Towers Regional Council Flinders Shire Council
Investment	$1.75 billion
Key features	approximately 740 km overhead high voltage electricity transmission line from a new substation at Woodstock, south of Townsville to connect with the North West Power System, west of Cloncurry augmentation of the powerline to Mount Isa and a southern extension from Cloncurry to substations at Selwyn and Woodya, increasing the transmission line for the project to approximately 1000 km six new substations transmission towers every 500-600 metres access tracks to the corridor and along its alignment, a minimum of four construction camps, site offices, laydown delivery areas and concrete batching plants optical fibre network capability
Jobs	up to 750 full time equivalent (FTE) construction jobs 30 FTE operational jobs

* Project information supplied by proponent and subject to change.

Environmental impact statement (EIS) process

Date	Activity
11 November 2022	Delegate for Australian Minister for the Environment and Water approval of controlled action ‘CopperString Transmission Line Project’ (EPBC 2019/8416) subject to conditions.
28 September 2022	Coordinator-General’s report on the EIS ( 16 MB) released. Updated draft biodiversity offset management strategy (August 2022) ( 23 MB) provided since final EIS to inform evaluation report on the EIS.
28 February 2022	The Coordinator-General accepted the draft EIS and the revised draft EIS as the final EIS. Final EIS, including appendices.
12 January 2022	The proponent lodged an updated revised draft EIS
12 October 2021	The proponent lodged a revised draft EIS.
17 June 2021	Additional information for the EIS requested by the Coordinator-General.
23 February 2021	Coordinator-General stated a new project declaration lapse date of 4 March 2022.
21 December 2020 to 12 February 2021	Draft EIS on public consultation. Draft EIS, including appendices.
4 September 2019	Terms of reference for an EIS ( 693 KB) released.
8 July to 2 August 2019	Draft terms of reference ( 647 KB) for EIS public consultation.
14 May 2019	Delegate for the Australian Minister for the Environment decided that the project is a 'controlled action' A project that has the potential to have a significant impact on matters of national environmental significance is called a 'controlled action' and requires approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cwlth).
26 April 2019	Gazettal of 'coordinated project' declaration ( 246 KB).
February 2019	Initial advice statement submitted ( 7.3 MB) submitted.

Read more about the EIS process.

Last updated: 19 Jun 2023