'Lack of social licence': what Upper Hunter council says renewables project is missing

Upper Hunter Shire councillors have voted to demand the state government pause land acquisition and conduct a full economic and environmental review of the New England Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) transmission project.

The notice of motion, moved by Cr Allison McPhee at Monday's ordinary council meeting, passed with only Adam Williamson voting against it.

The motion notes a "lack of meaningful engagement" with landholders along the transmission corridor.

It also raises concerns that EnergyCo is acquiring land for construction while preparing the project's environmental impact statement.

The motion also flags what councillors describe as an absence of any legislated cap on the scale of renewable energy and transmission development planned for the region.

The council resolved to write to the Premier, the Minister for Energy, the Minister for Planning, EnergyCo and local state and federal MPs, seeking a cumulative impact assessment of all renewable projects proposed or approved in the REZ.

It will also ask authorities to halt land acquisition until that work is done, and review whether the transmission project stacks up financially given how many of the generation projects it was built to service have stalled.

Cr McPhee told the meeting the project's status had recently been downgraded by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) from "actionable" to "anticipated".

Under that classification, AEMO does not retest whether the project delivers a net benefit to consumers.

"This means that the NSW Labor government is no longer listening to the experts that ensure that all infrastructure is for the interests of NSW residents," Cr McPhee said.

Cr McPhee pointed to Squadron Energy's decision in mid-July to abandon its 426-megawatt Boorolong wind farm near Armidale, one of the larger generation projects proposed for the REZ, as evidence the transmission project risked becoming a "white elephant".

She told the meeting the project's cost had blown out from an original estimate of about $4 billion to as much as $20 billion.

AEMO's official cost estimate for the corridor is $6 billion, with a margin of error of 50 per cent. Independent analysts have warned the final bill could run considerably higher.

Cr McPhee also criticised a $60 million community benefit fund announced by Energy Minister Penny Sharpe in May open to councils in the REZ's footprint.

She described the arrangement as forcing cash-strapped regional councils to compete against each other for funding.

She said the NSW Rural Fire Service's concerns about aerial firefighting near transmission lines had not been adequately addressed, and that farmland already purchased along an earlier proposed corridor had been left idle after the route was changed.

EnergyCo said it has worked with the RFS at a strategic and corporate level, and that last November's corridor change was made partly to reduce impacts on aerial firefighting operations at Chaffey Dam.

Seconding the motion, councillor Peter McGill said he supported renewable energy and had installed batteries on his own property, but argued the project should proceed with landholder consent.

"This should all be about choice, not about government bulldozing through," he said.

EnergyCo shifted the corridor last November after determining the original alignment west of Lake Glenbawn was too difficult to build safely and cost-effectively.

It then consulted on a three-kilometre-wide corridor from April this year before narrowing it to one kilometre.

Compulsory acquisitions have not yet begun on the revised corridor.

Some properties on both alignments have been bought through a hardship provision under the Just Terms Compensation Act, allowing landholders facing financial hardship to sell before formal acquisition begins.

An EnergyCo spokesperson said the project has been shaped through extensive engagement, including more than 650 landowner meetings and 170 council meetings.

Further reductions to affected properties are expected as the corridor is refined to a final easement of around 140 metres for dual lines and 70 metres for single lines.

"Consultation is continuing as we refine the transmission corridor and prepare the environmental impact statement. Anyone can have their say on the [environmental impact statement] when it is placed on exhibition later this year," they said.

EnergyCo says there is strong generation interest in the New England, with 25 projects representing more than 10 gigawatts of capacity in the planning system.

EnergyCo has not published a cost figure for the transmission corridor and associated infrastructure, and a preferred network operator is expected to be selected within 12 to 18 months.

The project connects up to eight gigawatts of proposed wind, solar and battery capacity via roughly 300 kilometres of transmission corridor running from north of Armidale to Bayswater.

It encompasses about 150 landholdings, of which 23 to 26 are in Upper Hunter Shire.

The corridor underpins the state government's plan to firm up energy supply as coal-fired power stations retire, with the first stage targeted for 2032.

An environmental impact statement is likely to go on exhibition later this year, with a submissions report due in 2027 and planning approvals potentially before the end of next year.