In a statement, Moorabool Central Highlands Power Alliance chair Emma Muir said AusNet had "finally put a price on our lives and livelihoods", claiming the average payout of $200,000 per tower is "loose change" and won't "cover a fraction of the millions of dollars of loss landowners face - for many generations".

"Our community is not for sale. The compensation plan is a PR stunt that attempts to divert people away from the devastating impacts of the project," she said.

"Victorians deserve a renewable energy future that is founded on innovative, reliable and scalable technology, because we do not want to see our energy future disabled with outdated and dangerous technology like the WVTNP."

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Landholders affected by the Western Victoria Transmission Network Project will be assessed on a case-by-case basis for compensation, according to proponent AusNet.

The company released new guidelines on land access, compensation, and easements this week.

It promised to "work with" farmers who will need to change their farming practices if affected by a potential easement, including "replacing equipment and machinery".

READ MORE: Western Victoria Transmission Network Project: EES survey site visits begin

According to a media release, a "qualified valuer" will calculate compensation for land acquired for easements, and the company will "seek to enter into an agreement with each landholder along the route to acquire an easement over their land on agreed terms and for an agreed price within a certain period of time".

The WVTNP aims to connect new renewable electricity generators to the state's grid - the plan is to build 190km of new transmission lines from Bulgana, near Ararat, to Melbourne's western edge, and potentially a massive new terminal station, believed to be near Mount Prospect.

While a final route has not yet been planned - the media release noted it will be determined "in the coming weeks" - the interim area of interest has sparked immense anger among landholders and community members, who say easements will claim valuable farmland, affect agricultural businesses, and ruin views for residents and tourists.

READ MORE: See the narrowed corridor map

The project is currently undergoing an Environmental Effects Statement study, which must then be analysed and approved by the state government before further work can begin.

Many of the project's opponents have urged AusNet to build the transmission lines underground, and the company will examine this as part of the EES - documents state "feasible project alternatives will be considered, together with a wider discussion of other alternatives considered but not pursued".

Documents for landholders note the easement required for above-ground towers - some of which could be up to 80m tall - would need to be about 70 to 100m wide, while easements for high-voltage underground transmission lines would be 30 to 35m.

However, it states that some uses, including "agriculture", would not be permitted within an underground cable easement, but would be under overhead lines - livestock grazing is permitted over and under both.

"Earlier this year, AusNet fast-tracked a study into the use of land and machinery height limits under the proposed transmission line, confirming that farming, including irrigated horticulture, can safely continue," the media release states.

"This includes operating centre-pivot and lateral moving irrigators within permitted heights under the proposed transmission lines."

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However, some farmers have said their equipment will not be usable even under the new regulations.

The EES is now expected to be complete and submitted by mid-2022.

When the final route is decided, land liaison officers will begin to get in touch with landholders.

Moorabool Shire Council will hold independent online information sessions with the state government's DELWP on the EES process on November 11, and renewable energy zones on November 25 - to register and ask questions, visit the website.

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