There is a palpable anger in communities around Ballarat towards the Western Victoria Transmission Network Project, and it's been going on since the initial area of interest was announced in 2019 - farmers who have worked the land for generations, making the most of valuable volcanic soil to supply potatoes and other produce; a tourism industry that's built itself around authentic connections to the landscape; and residents who moved to the area for the views and peace are united against the project going ahead in its current proposed form.
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The powerlines project - not distribution lines from house to house, but 500kv transmission lines with towers up to 80 metres tall - would link renewable energy generators in the state's west to the rest of the grid, creating more capacity.
It would run from Bulgana, near Stawell, to Melbourne's western edge, straight across townships like Tourello, Mount Prospect, Newlyn, and Springbank.
The exact route for the line hasn't yet been determined, and the project is still completing studies for its Environmental Effects Statement, which is expected to be submitted to the state government next year.
While it is not a state government project - the independent energy regulator, the Australian Energy Market Operator, commissioned the project - the redistribution of the grid sparked by the closure of coal-fired power plants and the state government's own ambitious emissions goals meant the project, or one similar, would be needed before the end of the decade.
Farmers and other landholders say they're exhausted, with on-site studies beginning on their land, and fights over future access and compensation yet to begin.
Ironically, several have mentioned, the project has united communities along the entire corridor of interest in opposition.
READ MORE: See the narrowed corridor map
It's not an opposition to renewable energy, but an opposition to this project and its effects, and the feeling it's being forced on them.
AusNet, the company which won the tender to design, build, operate, and maintain the eventual project, has consistently said it is attempting to work with landholders as the EES progresses - construction on the project may not begin for many years.
Last week, it attempted to change the narrative, pointing to the bigger picture about why the project was required - in a media release, representatives from wind farm companies and business groups stated the project would unlock billions of dollars in investment across western Victoria.
The Grampians New Energy Taskforce has spent years advocating for Victoria to decarbonise its economy, and new transmission lines will be central to this - chair Stuart Benjamin, based in Ballarat, has spoken out previously about the need for the WVTNP, and similar projects, to get this going.
However, speaking to The Courier, he is mindful of the massive impact the project will have on the people who were there first - the farmers and landholders - but said the entire state needed it.
"It's a wicked problem," he said.
"I'm a property owner and there's no way I'd want these things going across my property, full stop.
"We've really done the community, and to be honest the Victorian public, a disservice by not making a statement very early on - this thing has to go from point A to point B, and if it doesn't, in five or 10 years time we will have very serious issues in Victoria.
"Not just in our immediate communities, but our entire state, we will not have enough power to run the state, and that's not an exaggeration or overstatement."
According to Mr Benjamin, for the state to fully decarbonise, it will need four times as much electricity as it currently uses in the future, as new technologies, like electric vehicles and logistics, come online, and ageing coal-fired power stations will not be up to scratch.
"We're not talking about increasing something by 10 per cent or 15 per cent, or doing small moderations of this stuff, we need to times it by four," he said.
"We're now entering a new age, where once again we have an amazing source of relatively cheap, relatively reliable power, but we've got to get it from where it's generated, typically in regional locations, and ship it around the country, and that's the hard bit.
"While upgrading existing assets - some of which are 50 years old, which presents a different argument - we need much bigger transmission lines and a lot more of them if we're going to achieve our goal of net zero (emissions)."
Residents, and Moorabool Shire Council, have continually pushed for the lines to be built underground, which could minimise some impacts to farming, but would increase the cost.
An independent study commissioned by Moorabool found it was viable, and AusNet has said full and partial undergrounding will be considered in the EES process.
It was "regrettable" that community concerns were not raised earlier in the planning process, Mr Benjamin added - many residents say they have not felt listened to at all, instead forming well-organised opposition groups, and already a community reference group resigned in protest.
"There are a lot of impacts on these farms from having these powerlines run across them, yes there's a valuation process, yes there'll be monetary compensation that will hopefully alleviate some of that, but at the end of the day you still end up with these assets on your property," he said.
"While I don't accept it will stop farming on these properties, I think that's a slight exaggeration, it will undoubtedly have a significant impact - that's regrettable, that's why we're encouraging other routes be investigated as part of the EES.
"No one has been able to explain why this asset can't go down the highway, I think we'll hear that as part of the EES process, and the community deserves to hear that."
Indeed, Mr Benjamin said the problem stemmed from the beginning of the project, with AEMO's RIT-T, or regulatory investment test for transmission, which is potentially already out of date four years on - if all the projects planned in the Wimmera come to fruition, for example, a full 500kv line from Bulgana to Ballarat could be needed.
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This has been mentioned previously by the state government, and while it would still require towers across the state, a terminal station wouldn't be required.
According to landholders in the area, a site in Mount Prospect is being eyed by AusNet for a terminal station, with the company entering into options to purchase, but hasn't been confirmed yet.
"From my point of view, powerlines aren't pretty, but terminal stations are bloody ugly," Mr Benjamin added.
"I really don't want to see that in my community if there's any way to avoid it."
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