Australia just completed the world's longest underground electricity transmission cable — a 4,200-kilometer high-voltage direct current line buried entirely below ground connecting Queensland's massive solar and wind resources to Melbourne and Adelaide, delivering northern sunshine to southern Australian cities with no visual surface impact.
The EnergyConnect Ultra cable buries a 3,000-megawatt HVDC transmission line at 1.5-meter depth across 4,200 kilometers following existing road and rail corridors to minimise land disruption. Underground routing eliminates the visual impact and wind damage vulnerability of overhead lines, while the cable's polymer insulation maintains electrical performance across the full 4,200-kilometer run with only 4.1 percent energy loss at rated capacity.
Australia's renewable energy generation sites are mostly in the hot, sunny, and windy north and center while 70 percent of population concentrates in the temperate southeast. This underground connection allows unlimited renewable development in optimal locations to serve populated demand centers without overhead transmission opposition from affected communities.
Source: ElectraNet Australia, TransGrid Australia, Australian Energy Market Operator, 2025
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