Farmers get multimillion-dollar offers for hosting power lines, but some still rail against ‘blight’

Victorian landowners who must host power lines for a new renewable energy project stand to gain millions of dollars in compensation but fear it won’t be enough to make up for the 85-metre towers and transmission lines crossing their properties.

Power grid operator AusNet has started sending compensation valuations to landowners affected by the 190-kilometre Western Renewables Link project, which will connect renewable energy generators in the state’s west to the power grid.

Victorian potato farmer Tony Toohey fears being short-changed by the Western Renewables Link project, which will cut across his property.Credit: Joe Armao

The company has sent valuations to about a dozen property owners and said there would be more offers to come in following months. Compensation ranges from hundreds of thousands of dollars to multimillion-dollar offers.

But AusNet is facing a backlash from angry farmers who say the project will hamper their farming operations and devalue their land. A rally is planned outside state parliament on Tuesday.

Farmer Tony Toohey, who grows potatoes at Springbank near Ballarat, said he expected to host three 85-metre towers on his property. Valuers from AusNet had visited, but he had not yet been offered compensation, he said.

A sign at Mount Prospect protesting against the 190-kilometre Western Renewables Link project. Credit: Joe Armao

Toohey said he feared AusNet’s compensation would not cover future losses of land value and limitations to farming practices.

“We think we’re looking down the barrel of financial loss,” he said.

He described the proposed powerlines and towers as a blight on the landscape and said the project should be reconsidered.

“We’d like it go back to the drawing board,” he said. “We think it’s ridiculous that it goes across prime agricultural land.”

The proposed route for the Western Renewables Link will run from a terminal station in Sydenham, in Melbourne’s north-west, to the Bulgana Green Power Hub near Stawell in the state’s west.

Some farmers fear AusNet’s compensation will not cover future losses of land value and limitations to farming practices.Credit: Joe Armao

AusNet said it would pay for landholders to get their own valuations as part of negotiations for a final figure. But the company declined to reveal exactly how much money individual landholders had been offered so far.

AusNet chief development officer Jon D’Sylva said the process to investigate the project’s feasibility had been stressful for local communities.

“We have listened to the community, and we are making changes where possible to ease that stress,” he said.

D’Sylva said 95 route changes had been made following landholder feedback and technical assessments.

Affected property owners would be compensated for disturbance to their properties and operations, in addition to depreciation in the value of their land, he said.

“The payments are intended to recognise the important role that landholders play in hosting critical transmission infrastructure.”

He said the project would cut Victoria’s carbon emissions, help reduce power bills and enhance the reliability of the power grid.

But Victorian Farmers Federation president Emma Germano argued the transmission lines and towers would hamper modern agricultural practices, including the use of drones and aerial farming techniques, such as seeding and spraying.

She said potato farmers in the Ballarat district could not transport their prized soils and water access elsewhere if they were in the Western Renewables Link’s path.

Victorian Farmers Federation president Emma Germano said the project must be paused and reassessed.Credit: Simon Schluter

“We can’t compensate for this loss of highly productive farmland,” she said. “That is why the Western Renewables Link project must be paused and reassessed under a statewide plan for transmission.”

On top of the compensation from AusNet, the state government will pay affected landholders $8000 per kilometre of transmission line on their properties each year for 25 years.

Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said new transmission infrastructure was vital for securing affordable and reliable renewable energy for Victorians.

“We are providing additional payments to ensure that we strike a balance between fairly compensating private landholders who host transmission infrastructure and minimising the impacts on Victorians power bills,” she said.

Glenden Watts, a farmer from central Victoria, will be among the farmers attending Tuesday’s protest. His property is likely to be in the path of the Victoria-to-NSW Interconnector West, although the final route is yet to be determined.

Watts said it was still unclear exactly how farming practices would be affected by the construction of new transmission lines and towers over farmland.

But he said the project would dominate the landscape.

“We don’t want 80-metre towers and high-voltage powerlines,” he said.

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