00:00 In this energy transition and the race to renewable energy, we've got all these targets,
00:06 net zero by 2050, these big plans to really ramp up wind, solar, hydro, but the really
00:13 key part of this puzzle is transmission lines.
00:16 Many people will know those big overhead power lines that just span large parts of the countryside.
00:23 There is growing community concern about those lines because while we've long seen community
00:28 opposition, localised opposition to renewable energy projects, particularly in rural areas
00:34 where wind farms and solar farms are going up, this is quite widespread concern because
00:39 these transmission lines span hundreds of kilometres across parts of New South Wales.
00:45 That led to an upper house inquiry because there have been calls for underground, those
00:50 overhead lines to actually be buried underground.
00:53 It's been looking into the feasibility of that.
00:54 We're actually going to see a report get handed down on that today, but the Minns government
00:59 has said this is not cost effective.
01:02 It could triple the cost.
01:04 There could be quite a debate to play out now about that.
01:08 What has the government said about this?
01:11 We've seen the government has net zero plans by 2050.
01:14 It wants to get to 80% renewables by 2030.
01:18 Very ambitious plans.
01:19 It's got four different renewable energy zones across New South Wales.
01:23 These are large swathes of land across regional parts of New South Wales where solar, wind
01:29 and hydro are going to be installed.
01:31 It needs to meet these plans.
01:32 It needs to get those transmission lines in.
01:34 So it's saying if it's going to have to go underground, we're going to see costs ballooning
01:39 and we're going to see delays in those projects.
01:42 What that means is that they won't meet targets, those renewable energy targets, but we could
01:47 also see a shortfall in the power supply because as we know, there are some coal-fired power
01:52 stations that are due to retire soon.
01:55 But this is not going to be easy.
01:56 There is a lot of community concern about this.
01:59 It's going to cost a lot more to bury it underground, but it could be the less politically perhaps
02:06 antagonistic approach for some.
02:08 So it's got that really balance to tread between trying to save money and trying to crack on
02:13 with these projects and trying to walk hand in hand with some of these regional communities
02:18 that are concerned about transmission lines.
02:20 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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