By Jo Nova
Foiled — Coal plants are closing (in theory) in Australia, but all the cheap, free, wind and solar power needs hideously expensive high voltage towers, which aren’t going to be built in time, or maybe ever. Last week the AEMO officially announced there would be a two year delay, throwing a spanner in the transition timeline. Coal plants like Yallourn, are supposed to be closing in 2028, but the Victoria-NSW-Interconnector (VNI) won’t be ready until 2030 now.
It doesn’t matter how much wind or sun falls on outback plains if there is no cable to connect them. The renewables-unreliable industry is worthless without these large pieces of infrastructure, which the farmers detest, and the industry can’t possibly afford to pay for itself.
The organization of the farmers in Victoria is just inspirational — all the paddocks marked in red are the areas farmers have refused access to the VNI project. Give these people a medal.
‘We’ll fight them at the gate’: Vic farmers vow to step up fight against VNI West transmission project.
By Christine Middap, The Australian
And now, as the Victorian government presses ahead with legislation to force access onto private property and penalise defiant farmers, the stakes have been raised even higher.
“We’re united on this and we’ll fight them at the farm gate, if that’s what it comes to,’’ said merino breeder Ben Duxson, a sixth-generation farmer from Marnoo in the Wimmera region.
“We’re prepared and we’re organised and, to be honest, there are people out here quite prepared to go to jail for this. They will not be getting access to our land.’’
The Australian has the whole story, and things are starting to get desperate and dark. The farmers on these lands describe the area as intergenerational farms on the best farmland in Australia, and say they can not be bought off. Though rumors are that a desperate Victorian government may offer as much as $460,000 per kilometer for a 100m wide easement. And if that doesn’t work, landholders barring entry may face fines of $12,000 each.
Developers are so desperate they are also offering “near neighbors” up to $40,000 just to smooth things over. Wind turbines are so unpopular, even people next door need some compensation too. No wonder costs are blowing out.
The Victorian government works like the Magic Faraway Tree (but it’s not as much fun). The latest fantasy land has seven “renewable” zones with as many as 5.2 million solar panels, and 1000 wind towers. It would cover as much as 7% of the whole state, though, VicGrid says that’s not so bad because cows and sheep can wander among the towers, or something like that. Presumably they can eat the grass between the solar panels, and sleep under the thump-thump-thump of the blades, not that anyone knows if that affects meat-quality, fertility, or is inherently cruel. It’s just another pointless experiment in a pagan quest to prevent droughts and bad storms in 80 years time.
The proposed transmission lines are totally superfluous. We could use the money to build new coal, gas or nuclear plants near the current transmission lines instead.
Ultimately it’s our money the government and subsidized-renewables-industry is throwing away. We all stand to lose. These farmers are saving Australians vast sums of money and deserve help, beer and postcards. If anyone knows key players, or social media links, please share in the comments.
Western Victorian Farmer