Stop Rethink HumeLink hits out at 'sham' transmission inquiry

The Stop Rethink HumeLink group was referring to the release of a NSW Upper House committee's report on Thursday, August 31.

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The standing committee examined the feasibility of undergrounding renewable energy transmission projects, including the $5 billion, 360km HumeLink proposal between Maragle and Bannaby.

The report concluded that a 500 kilovolt overhead transmission line was "the correct approach, especially given the applicable regulatory environment and the lack of any action to date in progressing the underground option."

Inquiry chair, Labor's Emily Suvaal, said while it wasn't what many people were calling for, the "evidence was clear that undergrounding would result in substantial additional cost and would be unlikely to receive regulatory approval."

HumeLink is designed to transmit 2200 megawatts of renewable energy and is proposed to pass through Yass Valley, Upper Lachlan and Goulburn Mulwaree Council areas, among others.

Stop Rethink HumeLink spokesman, Michael Katz, said the committee was Labor dominated. He was one of more than 300 people who lodged submissions.

"It was an exercise in futility in some ways because they were always going to do what the Premier wanted...," he said.

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Premier Chris Minns told a business lunch on Wednesday, before the report's release, that the line would not go underground as "it would cost three times as much and delay bringing renewable energy on line."

Mr Katz's group labelled the inquiry a "complete sham" and said the Premier had predetermined the outcome. He argued it ignored the advice of "highly qualified independent engineers, ecologists, frontline firefighters, farmers and residents who supported undergrounding and provided much cheaper alternative costings."

Instead, the government had relied on proponent, TransGrid's costings, which were "exaggerated," Mr Katz said.

Moreover, it had "ignored" submissions that overhead transmission lines "added significant bushfire risk, destroyed habitat and endangered species and impacted industries such as tourism, agriculture and forestry."

Mr Katz, a Gurrundah property owner and former bank executive, said Mr Minns' imperative that new energy sources had to be connected by 2026, was "rubbish."

"HumeLink was always about servicing Snowy 2.0, the greatest white elephant the country has ever seen," he said

"...There is no way that Snowy 2.0 will require HumeLink in the near future. In fact in the early regulatory reports it is clear that the net benefit to the people of NSW rises substantially until such time as Snowy 2.0 is operating because there is no use for it...An unused $5bn transmission line is a very expensive entity."

But a TransGrid spokesperson said the project would improve access to renewable energy from southern NSW, South Australia and Victoria, "even in the absence of Snowy 2.0."

"HumeLink will also provide greater network resilience if other generation, storage or transmission projects are delayed for any reason," the spokesperson said.

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The company maintained undergrounding would delay HumeLink by three to five years, "posing an unacceptable risk to consumers in terms of energy reliability and network security, and slowing down the integration of cleaner and cheaper renewable energy into the grid."

"If HumeLink is not delivered on time in 2026, it will jeopardise network reliability. It is also not technically feasible for the type of transmission line required for this project," the spokesperson said.

It pledged to work with landowners to reduce impacts.

But Mr Katz remained unconvinced and said the inquiry was a "slap in the face to hard work and caring people who tried to find viable solutions and were met with distain."

Greens MP and inquiry committee member, Cate Faehrmann, described the report as a "pointless tick and flick exercise."

"I'm extremely disappointed by this report's finding that massive 500 kV overhead transmission lines are the correct approach for HumeLink," she said.

"It does not reflect the evidence that was presented to the committee which was overwhelmingly against overhead transmission lines."

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Ms Faehrmann said TransGrid had "no social licence" to build the project.

The Greens' recommendations for inquiry findings were rejected by government members.

The report's release came a day after TransGrid released its 900-page plus environmental impact statement for the project. People have been given 28 days to respond to the state significant proposal.

Mr Katz said his group was pushing for a time extension to 90 days. However he branded the EIS a "joke," given the government's support for HumeLink and the fact that TransGrid had already purchased equipment for the infrastructure.

Nevertheless, his group plans to continue its campaign against the project.

"For the community, this battle is far from over and may cause significant delays," Mr Katz said.

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