How many landholders does the NSW Government want to anger in one week?
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First up, the NSW Premier said he would consider compulsory land acquisition to ensure the Hunter gas pipeline can be built and only days before EnergyCo released an updated transmission line route from the Walcha energy hub to Muswellbrook.
With anger rising every day on the renewable rollout across the state, the latest EnergyCo map has seen the immediate creation of new opposition groups, including the Upper Hunter Responsible Infrastructure Group (UHRIG).
The group is opposing the newly announced corridor for two sets of 500kV transmission lines by EnergyCo in the Gundy region to the east of Scone for the New England REZ.
The group says it represents scores of affected landholders from Glenbawn Dam to Timor who have been blindsided by the government-run agency, EnergyCo, due to an abysmal lack of community consultation.
They have requested and EnergyCo has agreed to attend a town hall style meeting at the Gundy Soldiers' Memorial Hall at 5pm, Wednesday, November 5.
According to EnergyCo, for the past few years, they have been planning the corridor for new transmission lines that will connect the New England REZ to the grid, eventually delivering up to 8 gigawatts of energy we need to keep the lights on in NSW.
The final permanent easement for the transmission lines would be narrowed to 140m wide for the dual 500 kilovolt (kV) lines (generally 70m for each line).
The environmental impact statement is now expected to go on public exhibition in the second half of 2026.
Last month, Singleton hosted a public hearing of the Upper House committee inquiry into the impact of renewable energy zones (REZ) on rural and regional communities and industries in NSW.
Among the speakers was Mt Thorley farmer Myree Russell described her family's stress and heartbreak that their Hunter River irrigation farm, held by the Russell family for more than 100 years, is about to become part of the corridor for the Hunter Transmission Project.
"All of our remaining strategic agricultural land must be warranted protection from all forms of development," she said.
"Once a transmission line is built on or over a piece of land, you drastically reduce its potential. If our farming capabilities are lost, we lose the ability to feed our nation and its ever-increasing population."
