Irrigation land in the firing line as cross-border project develops

Transgrid's VNI West connects NSW and Victorian energy grids via a new, high-voltage transmission line.

In NSW, it will run from a substation at Dinawan, north of Jerilderie, to a new substation at Kerang, Vic.

Transgrid published its preferred route on March 26. It is now narrowing the one-kilometre corridor down to a 200 metre construction corridor and then final easement.

An environmental impact statement is planned for public exhibition in 2025 with construction expected to start in 2026.

The controversial project has sparked ongoing protests in Victoria. In NSW, the sentiment is similar. The Land spoke to 15 producers who all raised concerns.

Arnold Hall, Coolabah, Cunningyeuk, said the current route would take about 25 per cent of his rice country out of production. It is also set to come within 500 metres of his house and cross his driveway.

"We'll be driving under it umpteen times a day," he said.

"The guidelines say a 60m buffer around the powerline for aircraft - rice is highly dependent on aerial spraying, sowing and top dressing.

"That's our most profitable crop and that's why we grow it. It'll have a major affect on how we operate and how we farm."

Mr Hall said Transgrid's guidelines - a 4.3m height limit for machinery - ruled out essential farming equipment working beneath. His solicitor's advice was not to sign anything and not to grant access.

"We're only dealing with the people at the bottom of the rung. They sit there and listen but they don't offer any solutions," he said.

"We've posed all these questions to them and we just get their guidelines thrown back.

"They want me to send a map in with my preferred options. I'm tempted to send a blank map."

Sue Pearse's family farms rice, cereals and sheep in the same district and is also impacted by the route. Her sons and daughters all wanted to be involved in the farm but the proposal could make the enterprise not viable.

"That's all up in the air - the current thought is no one wants to be under a high voltage powerline," she said.

"The only reason we've kept farming is because of the kids."

Mrs Pearse felt consultation was a box-ticking exercise.

"The country they're going through - the middle of a rice farm - is what they said they were going to avoid. I just feel like they don't care," she said.

Other producers said community meetings had not answered their questions with clarity. This included queries about insurance, the exact height of the towers, and if compensation was impacted by capital gains tax.

The uncertainty meant many had put upgrades on hold, which was impacting production.

Neighbours felt they were played off against each other. In the tight-knit community, sparing one property meant pushing the project onto someone else.

Alleena Burger, also in Cunningyeuk, purchased her land last May from her parents.

"We basically bought the property then within six months found out there was going to be a powerline," she said.

"We'll still be paying off the farm, but whether it goes through the property or not, the value of the property will go down."

Simon Ettershank, Cobramunga, said Transgrid approached him in August.

Other landowners were wary and mostly refused to engage with the company, but he thought he was doing the right thing by showing numerous areas the lines needed to avoid. But a proposed route in January had it going straight through his property.

"I was livid with that - I had actually talked to them," he said.

He expects the final route will run through his land, although it has not been confirmed where the project will cross the Murray River. Early plans had the line crossing at Moama, but this has since been pushed west.

Mr Ettershank said his legal advice was to wait for an updated route. Like other producers, he said the uncertainty was extremely stressful and he was aware compulsory acquisition was a possibility.

"We can choose to negotiate, or not," he said.

The recently submitted report into the feasibility of underground transmission lines was recently released by a select committee.

The report found providers, such as Transgrid, needed to improve consultation and offer more information to communities about the options and constraints of undergrounding.

Producers also highlighted the Victoria Energy Policy Centre's Plan B proposal, which keeps the project within Victoria, although this has been rejected by the Australian Energy Market Operator.

Alison Glenn, Moulamein, said she was told by a Transgrid spokesperson at an early community meeting that if regional areas didn't take VNI West, they would be responsible for people in the city paying more for their electricity.

In a statement, a Transgrid spokesperson said it was "not aware of this statement being made and do not support the comments." It was continuing to meet with landowners to identify the areas of least impact.

It did not answer whether materials had been ordered but said towers for a 500kV double circuit transmission line were "typically around 70m".

The statement said it engaged extensively with landowners to understand the location of farm infrastructure, irrigation and rice production areas. The preferred route was designed to minimise impacts on rice production and amendments had been made during planning, it said.

Compensation was provided when agriculture was impacted. Negotiations were assessed individually and Transgrid would pay for costs such as legal fees and independent valuations, it said.

"Transgrid's strong preference is to resolve easement acquisitions through negotiation. While we acknowledge compulsory acquisition is a potential outcome where negotiations prove unsuccessful, we are yet to commence easement valuations on the project and are focused on minimising impacts on individual properties," it said.

The NSW government's Strategic Benefits Payments Scheme is separate to private easement negotiations. Its rate is $10,000 per kilometre paid annually for 20 years, adjusted for inflation.

Transgrid said it recorded questions at town meetings and emailed answers to attendees who provided contact details. Landowners were assigned a dedicated landowner liaison team.

Many producers felt an earlier route, which came within 1.5km of the Moulamein township, was never a genuine proposal. Transgrid said it tried to use a public land corridor to minimise impacts on properties.

Transgrid said it was grateful for the positive engagement and the new route was about 6km from town. It said it developed a community consultative committee for concerns and feedback to be flagged and to help identify economic opportunities and community benefits.

"We are committed to ensuring that decisions around route planning are made in a transparent manner with appropriate opportunities for landowners and community members to participate in the planning process," it said.

"We are continually seeking feedback on our activities so that we can continually improve the experience for local communities."