Dairy farmer Andrew Balfour's property was home to high-voltage transmission towers long before he was born — but that doesn't mean he likes them.
Key points:
- Andrew Balfour has seven transmission towers on his eastern Victorian dairy farm
- He says the infrastructure will hamper his succession plan and fears renewable energy projects will lead to more towers in the area
- Victoria could struggle to achieve its plan to have 9GW of offshore wind capacity by 2040 if environmental roadblocks are not overcome
Situated in Willow Grove, in Victoria's east, Mr Balfour's 500-hectare farm accommodates 900 dairy cows and seven transmission towers.
The transmission lines connect the nearby coal-fired power stations in the Latrobe Valley to the national grid.
"At harvest time, you've got to be careful on tractors and mowers," Mr Balfour said.
"When you're fencing, sometimes you get a bit of a current along with fence lines that run parallel with the transmission lines, so you've got to make sure they're earthed out before you start tying the wires."
But the dairy farmer's main concern is his succession plan.
"I've got three boys that are all interested in farming … we will need more dwellings for them to move into," he said.
The location of transmission lines through the middle of the property means it will be difficult for him to find a suitable location for each of his children to live.
"This would be a great spot for a house," Mr Balfour said from the farm's highest point of elevation.
"But it'd be looking straight into a transmission line.
"It's something I've learned to grow with and live with, but I wouldn't go out of my way to have [the powerlines]."
Victoria's energy grid was designed in the 1950s to connect electricity from coal-fired power generators to the state's homes and businesses.
Those plants are centralised in the Latrobe Valley, but renewable energy infrastructure will be built in various locations across the state — requiring more high-voltage powerlines to connect it to the grid.
'Not in my backyard'
The controversial VNI West line and Western Renewables Link (WRL) would see 500-kilovolt transmission lines constructed through farmland from outer Melbourne through to the New South Wales border.
They will connect renewable energy projects in Victoria's west to the national grid, a prospect many impacted communities are unhappy about.
For Australian National University (ANU) professor Andrew Blakers, the "not in my backyard" argument from people claiming the infrastructure was a visual intrusion did not hold up.
"I think they need to get over it," Professor Blakers said.
"The 80 per cent of the population who lives in urban areas puts up with clutter all over the place, and people who live in the Hunter Valley put up with awful open-cut coal mines.
"It's economically a good idea, it's technically very straightforward, and environmentally, it's overwhelmingly positive to go rapidly solar and wind."
Protecting the coastline
It is not just transmission lines causing headaches for the state government.
Victoria is hoping to have 9 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2040, but environmental roadblocks have threatened to derail this timeline.
In December, federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek vetoed a proposal to build a wind turbine construction terminal at the Port of Hastings.
The Port of Hastings sits within Western Port, and the entire area is protected by the United Nations' Ramsar Convention.
The minister cited "clearly unacceptable impacts" on the port's surrounding wetlands as the key reason for her decision.
Jane Carnegie, the vice-president of Save Westernport, a community group to protect the local coastline, was thrilled with the decision.
"It recognises why we need to protect these areas and ensure no further degradation," Ms Carnegie said.
"Ramsar sites are international sites recognised for their importance as major wetlands — as feeding systems for wading birds, for migratory birds, for fish and other species that depend upon these wetlands to survive."
But following this recent setback, climate experts are concerned the state's renewable energy goals are moving out of reach.
Professor Blakers said while it was important to consider the environmental impacts of renewable energy infrastructure, time was running out.
"We don't live in a perfect world, there will always be trade-offs for everything," he said.
"In all of this, the evidence has to be followed — the benefit from large greenhouse gas emission reductions, versus the cost of the local environmental degradation that might take place."
Could this tool help end renewable debate?
One tool that could help governments choose appropriate locations for renewable energy infrastructure is a heat map developed by ANU.
The technology identifies sites across Australia that are suitable for wind and solar projects, and those that are not.
The high-resolution map takes into consideration a number of factors, including proximity to existing transmission networks, available solar and wind resources, and environmental constraints.
A location is highlighted in red if the area scores well, while green pixels indicate land that is unsuitable.
Professor Blakers said technology like this could help governments avoid choosing the wrong location in the first place.
"Fortunately, because Australia is a large country, there are many [other] places to put solar and wind farms," he said.
"Generally you can find places quite close by that will be suitable."