Community feedback helps shape renewable energy corridor in the Hunter
Early feedback from the Hunter community has shaped the Hunter Transmission Project (HTP), a critical energy project to ensure a clean, reliable electricity supply for NSW.
As a result, around 85% of the new transmission infrastructure will be on power station, government and mining land.
The number of potentially affected private landowners has been reduced from 78 (in the preliminary corridor) to less than 25 (in the revised corridor).
The project involves construction of new overhead 500 kilovolt (kV) transmission infrastructure that is urgently needed by 2028 as the remaining coal-fired power stations retire. It will transport electricity from the New England and Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zones to homes and businesses in the Hunter, Sydney and Illawarra.
The corridor between Bayswater and Eraring has been refined thanks to early feedback sought by The Energy Corporation of NSW (EnergyCo) to ensure community views and local knowledge help shape the project.
Avoiding Cooranbong and Martinsville in HTP South is made possible by building a new substation on a site in the Olney State Forest that was previously used for growing commercial timber. The new Olney substation means the corridor will be around 15 kilometres shorter at 100 kilometres.
There will also be fewer impacts to private land in HTP North and Central.
The revised corridor minimises impacts in parts of the State forests that are culturally significant for the Aboriginal community and traditional owners, including scenic landscapes or sightlines.
EnergyCo’s priority is ongoing engagement with landowners in the revised corridor to minimise impacts and protect the environment.
A scoping report for the project has been lodged with the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure. For further details please visit energyco.nsw.gov.au/htp
Quotes attributable to EnergyCo chief executive James Hay:
“EnergyCo received more than 250 submissions on the Hunter Transmission Project preliminary corridor and these have absolutely helped to shape the revised corridor.
“We needed local community input early to get the corridor right.
“We need the Hunter Transmission Project so we all have reliable power. We’ll continue to work to find the best possible solution that minimises impacts to people and the environment.”