Community opposition the biggest threat to renewable energy transition

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The federal government's ambitious multi-billion-dollar plan to "re-wire the nation" will require a vast new network of high voltage power lines to be built. But community opposition to new transmission projects has been identified as the biggest threat to the renewable energy transition.

Transcript

00:00 [Music]

00:09 Delivering power to the people, a vast new network of transmission lines is beginning to snake across the country.

00:17 The arteries of Australia's energy system are being rapidly rebuilt.

00:22 But people power may bring this expansion to a halt.

00:27 We have barred access.

00:29 We haven't yet felt comfortable to allow access.

00:32 That's our only card we can play.

00:35 I think all power to them in terms of standing on their dig to ensure that their property rights are protected.

00:40 Within sight of the Victorian New South Wales border, Daniel Link laid us surveying the massive new towers on his property, Trentham Station.

00:50 Standing tall on dry land cropping country, the high voltage transmission line is one part of a 900 kilometre energy superhighway.

01:00 Certainly in our case it hasn't impacted at all.

01:04 In fact, in December we were harvesting right alongside where they were boring holes to concrete the bases for the new towers.

01:13 So it's worked quite well.

01:16 Two years in the making, Daniel Link later says he's satisfied with the consultation process

01:22 and was able to secure a fair one-off payment from TransGrid for the acquisition of the easement.

01:28 But he gets why other farmers feel differently.

01:32 This line is on large scale properties, pastoral country.

01:38 It's not the same impact visually or aesthetically for communities.

01:43 So I think we're talking very different projects and impacts.

01:49 But yeah, certainly as I said, I would encourage everybody that's concerned to ensure that they are consulted properly

01:58 and that when it comes to hosting these transmission lines, that they extract every penny.

02:04 The energy market operator has mapped an extra 10,000 kilometres of transmission lines that will need to be built by 2030

02:12 to connect far-flung renewable energy projects to consumers as coal-fired power stations close.

02:19 This project, Energy Connect, is the first and currently the only so-called priority project under construction.

02:27 Others have stalled, facing deep grassroots resistance.

02:32 In the front line of the transmission war is the proposed Western Renewables Link.

02:37 (MUSIC)

02:51 The Myers family farm seed potatoes near Ballarat.

02:55 There's not a high-voltage power line in sight around here, but AusNet plans to build one.

03:01 When land agents knocked on Catherine Myers' door three years ago, she says she was offered a gift card in exchange for access to the farm.

03:10 I'm a pretty trusting person. I thought, oh, you know, that makes sense. They can come out and do it.

03:14 And my father-in-law actually went through the agreement.

03:17 He said, no, this is actually providing unfettered access for four years for both surface but also invasive surveys on the property.

03:25 So that $500 gift card was to allow them four years of free access to our farm.

03:32 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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