Farmers gutted after compulsory acquisition amendment passes: VFF
"The Victorian Farmers Federation is gutted that Parliament has backed laws allowing farmers’ land to be taken for transmission lines before the environmental assessment is even finished": Brett Hosking, VFF President.
Hunter-Central Coast REZ kicks off construction jobs: Sharpe
Construction is officially underway on the Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), a project that will generate enough energy to power more than all the homes in the Hunter.
District farmers fight back
Quill. Community spirit was alive and well at Marnoo on Sunday, February 22, as farmers and friends affected by mining and the renewable energy push came together in support and to share their stories – it was standing room only at the Marnoo Cricket Ground ... Across Victoria Alliance (AVA) has united 27 allied groups across the whole of Australia in the fight against the mining and renewables projects throughout the regions.
EnergyCo needs a shake-up
Securing social licence remains an ongoing challenge for councils as the region prepares for energy transition. The message was clear at a hearing in Hay last Wednesday into the impact of renewable energy zones on rural and regional communities and industries in NSW: EnergyCo is not doing enough ... EnergyCo, the NSW Government body responsible for upgrading the grid to build a reliable electricity system as coal-fired power stations retire, came under heavy fire from most witnesses in the hearing...
18 million hectares of farmland required for Labor’s net zero target: Littleproud
...Leader of The Nationals David Littleproud said the agricultural land required by … DAFF own calculations doesn’t factor in land that has already been sequestered. It comes after Senate Estimates heard the ABARES Insights Sequestration on agricultural land: impacts and policy trade-offs report shows under the 119 million tonnes of land-based sequestration needed to achieve net zero, about 18 million hectares of sequestration projects would need to be established by 2050.
Regional NSW dominates top 10 electorates with rooftop solar: Sharpe
The latest data reveals that households and businesses in regional NSW are leading the charge in rooftop solar adoption, accounting for nine of the top ten electorates for installations. NSW leads the country in rooftop solar with more than 1 million homes and businesses that now have rooftop solar – a third of all NSW homes.
Energy bills to go up – yet again – for Labor’s ‘cheapest form of electricity’: Webster
Everyday Australians face another hit to their power bills after Transgrid applied to pass on to consumers the $1.1 billion of their cost over-runs in the 900-kilometre EnergyConnect project between NSW and South Australia. Member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster MP said the latest revelation yet again exposes the fallacy that ‘renewable’ energy is not the ‘cheapest form of electricity’.
$7 billion pumped hydro projects declared critical for NSW: Sharpe, Scully, Jackson
Two multi-billion-dollar renewable energy projects with the potential to power over 1 million homes in peak demand have been declared Critical State Significant Infrastructure (CSSI) by the Minns Labor Government ... $3.5 billion Western Sydney Pumped Hydro Project at Lake Burragorang is a ZEN Energy ... $3.6 billion Yarrabin (Phoenix) Pumped Hydro Project near Mudgee is a ACEN Australia project ... Both projects, are in the early planning stages and are located on WaterNSW land.
Big energy, big decisions: Public hearing set for Dinawan Solar Farm as wind stage approaches milestone
The future of the Riverina’s energy landscape is moving into a critical phase this month as the Independent Planning Commission (IPC) prepares to descend on Coleambally for a public meeting regarding the Dinawan Solar Farm.
SEC breaks ground on Delburn Wind Farm: D’Ambrosio
Minister for the State Electricity Commission Lily D’Ambrosio has visited the SEC Delburn Wind Farm site, where construction will begin in March ahead of operations starting in 2028. The 33-turbine wind farm will have a generation capacity of up to 205 megawatts of renewable energy to the electricity grid, enough to power more than 130,000 homes with renewable power. The SEC will hold 100 per cent ownership of the project.
Snowy visit connects heritage and hi-tech
Australia's largest renewable energy project has received the seal of approval from an international tunnelling giant and Germany's top diplomat in Australia. Tunnelling pioneer Martin Herrenknecht and German ambassador Beate Grzeski recently enjoyed a quintessentially classic Australian flat white at the Snowy Hydro Discovery Centre in Cooma and toured the Snowy 2.0 Marica worksite, outside Kiandra.
Powering up
Ausnet repair crews have been acknowledged by the community for the rapid response in rebuilding the electricity network in the wake of the Walwa-River Road bushfire despite facing tough terrain, high temperatures and even lightning and hailstorms.
Power cables connected to Alkimos desalination plant
A major milestone in construction of the future Alkimos seawater desalination plant has been achieved, with Western Power installing 5km of 132kV underground cabling between the project site and the existing Yanchep substation.
Mid West and Geraldton left in the dark as power outages hit more than 24,000 on extreme heat day: Love
The Nationals WA have called for urgent action after widespread power outages left more than 24,000 homes and businesses across the Mid West and Geraldton without electricity today [14 December 2025] on a day where temperatures exceeded 35 degrees in parts of the region.
Battery plan backlash
Council raises alarm, TagEnergy defends Naracoorte mega-battery proposal. A Portugal-based energy company’s plan to build a 600-megawatt-hour battery energy storage system (BESS) on 11 hectares of prime agricultural land west of Naracoorte has ignited fierce community debate, with questions mounting over land use, safety, transparency, and the long-term implications for the region.
Snowy locks in long term contracts
Snowy Hydro continues to strengthen its critical role underpinning reliability while enabling Australia's renewable energy transition with the signing of major energy contracts with Aula Energy and TagEnergy, securing new capacity in wind generation and grid-scale battery storage. The long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Aula Energy will see Snowy Hydro procure 120MW of renewable energy from the Carmody's Hill Wind Farm in South Australia.
Cook Government must provide answers on asbestos risk in regional wind farms: Love
Leader of The Nationals WA Shane Love MLA has called out the Cook Labor Government for its failure to provide clear answers or decisive action following revelations that asbestos has been discovered in the lift brake pads of wind turbines imported into Australia from China.
Destruction of nature for transmission infrastructure proves biodiversity offsets are nature negative: Higginson
Labor Premier Chris Minns and Environment Minister Penny Sharpe are facing criticism from multiple sides of politics over their handling of the Central West Orana REZ following revelations that scores of native vegetation had been cleared to make way for a renewable energy project. An estimated 670 trees have been cleared, including critically endangered hollow bearing trees which make up habitat for koalas, glossy black cockatoos, little eagles, squirrel gliders and eastern pygmy possums.
Farmers unite to protect a family legacy
In the David vs Goliath battle of farmers and industrial renewables, Colin Fenton didn't mince his words in a showdown with a Transmission Company Victoria attempting to gain access to the family's 102-year family farming legacy at Dingwell. "We've been through wars, floods and fire, by hell we're a bloody resilient group," stated Colin, who, in his 80s, stood firm with his wife Mary and a group of supporters, who had rushed to their side for one of two attempted property entries this week.
The results are in – Mallee’s Biggest Survey results published: Webster
Member for Mallee Dr Anne Webster has released the views of over 5,300 Mallee voters showing strong opposition to Labor’s energy policies and highlighting that her advocacy is consistently in harmony with what Mallee voters believe ... Mallee’s Biggest Survey was circulated within Mallee to every letterbox and online in the wake of the May election and took months to receive, manually process and analyse over 5,300 responses.
Study reveals farmer mental health burden amidst land grab rush: VFF
A new Federation University study has revealed farmers and communities are buckling under the mental health strain posed by energy and mining developments in the Wimmera and Southern Mallee regions ... “Tragically an Australian farmer dies by suicide every 10 days. That’s more than twice the rate of other working Australians.”
$300m hot chip facility reliant on ag land protection: VFF
“This facility sits within a few hundred metres of the proposed Avonbank Heavy Mineral Sands Project. It is dependent on a constant and reliable supply of production from Victoria’s potato growers, who are currently at risk of having their production impacted by the proposed VNI West transmission project”: VFF President Brett Hosking.
