To reach net-zero and bring down power bills, state and federal governments have promised to fast-track the delivery of high voltage transmission lines to incorporate more renewable energy into the grid.
Key points:
- Thousands of kilometres of transmission lines need to be built across Australia to transition to renewable energy
- Farmers say they receive little compensation and risk compulsory acquisition from new lines crossing their properties
- Renewable energy advocates say the infrastructure is critical to bringing down emissions and power bills
But with thousands of kilometres and billions of dollars in investment needed, the farmers in the firing line are calling for a rethink on how the spoils of the transition are spread across the land.
Grazier Christine Hughes already has existing transmission lines running through her property.
Transgrid, the company responsible for the high voltage network in NSW, has now proposed building the 360-kilometre HumeLink line across her property.
The $3.3 billion dollar project is needed to unlock the renewable energy potential of the Snowy 2.0 development and other wind and solar farms for the Sydney energy market.
The plans for HumeLink include a 70-metre easement and towers 75m high every few hundred metres.
The transmission line is just one of many across the country in various stages of development that needs to be in place before the ageing coal-fired power stations go offline.
Compensation lottery
Impacted landholders across the breadth of HumeLink are concerned about visual and environmental impacts, increased bushfire risk and the devaluation of their land from hosting the proposed new line.
But the comparatively lacklustre compensation is also a sticking point.
Farmers who host wind and solar farms on their property are often able to negotiate lucrative yearly payments from the companies for using their land.
But if a company like Transgrid needs to build a high voltage line across a farm, the owner will have to negotiate a one-off settlement.
If the two parties don’t agree, the company has the right to compulsorily acquire the land.
In a statement Transgrid said this would always be a last resort.
But Christine Hughes said the amount she had been offered did not come close to covering the environmental and financial impacts of such large infrastructure across her property.
“The compensation is one tenth of what the wind turbines are getting … it’s absolutely insulting,” she said.
‘They’ll push back’
Renewable energy advocates have called for better compensation for the landowners who have to host transmission lines.
Andrew Bray from the Re-Alliance said the network being planned was beneficial to all energy consumers because it would reduce emissions and bring down power prices.
He would like to see a more “active” payment method to landholders, like a yearly sum to reflect this benefit.
He was worried the current compensation system risked causing delays in the transition to renewable energy.
“If it’s done badly, we’ll find that people have gotten offside and they’ll push back, you know, quite reasonably,” he said.
“And that will make the whole transition much more difficult.”
Underground line?
Michael Katz is another farmer impacted by the proposed Humelink transmission line.
He has teamed up with 50 other impacted farmers, including Ms Hughes, to push for the line to be built underground.
The HumeLink Alliance said an underground line would have less impact on landholders, have a lower bushfire risk and would have far less environmental and visual impact than the traditional overhead lines.
Transgrid has previously said an underground line would be prohibitively expensive but has commissioned a feasibility study to explore this option.
