The Victorian government is offering farmers and other rural property owners a payment for the controversial electricity transmission lines which cross their land.
That payment has been set at $8000 per year per kilometre of transmission lines hosted for 25 years, or $200,000.
NSW farmers get $10,000 per year over 20 years for each kilometre of line they have to host although the total is still the same.
Other payments are expected to be paid for rural property owners who are directed to provide easements on their land.
A long and angry campaign has been waged by communities across Australia about the plans to link new renewable power generators to the power grid.
The retirement of coal-fired power means many thousands of kilometres of transmission lines need to be upgraded to cope with the change of the power mix.
By one estimate, Australia-wide about 10,000km of transmission lines need to be rolled out by 2030.
Rural communities have held rallies in their towns and in the cities protesting over the unsightly intrusion into the rural landscape, most want them buried underground.
Farmers and rural residents last March blocked city streets in Melbourne with tractors as part of a march to protest the transmission line plans.
Farmers have claimed the power lines would impact on food production and their livelihoods.
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One project, commissioned by federal power regulator AMEO and led by AusNet have united rural communities in their protest.
Today the Victorian government announced it would will deliver new landholder payments for communities which host this transmission infrastructure.
The Victorian scheme follows a more generous payment plan offered by the NSW government last year.
The payment scheme is for NSW farmers and landholders hosting transmission lines on their properties.
The program will provide an annual sum of $10,000 per year over 20 years for every kilometre of new transmission line infrastructure.
This payment, applying to new transmission lines, will be in addition to existing statutory compensation payments made under the Just Terms Act.
The government said the network needs to be updated to connect new renewable generation and deliver cleaner, cheaper power to homes and businesses.
The government's initial payments would be directed to landholders who host transmission easements along the selected VNI West and Western Renewables Link transmission corridors.
This will ensure an equitable approach for projects across the Victorian-NSW border, as well as other major projects including the Victoria-Tasmania Marinus Link project and transmission links connecting Victoria's Renewable Energy Zones and future offshore wind projects.
The government released a consultation report for a proposed approach to planning and developing this new network infrastructure.
Energy and Resources Minister Lily D'Ambrosio said: "These new payments acknowledge the hugely important role landholders play in hosting critical energy infrastructure - a key part of Victoria's renewables revolution.
"We want to get the process for planning and approving new infrastructure right, so we can make sure the renewables revolution is a shared, equitable legacy for all Victorians."
Chris McLennan
ACM national rural property writer based in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. Career journalist. Multi award winner.
ACM national rural property writer based in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. Career journalist. Multi award winner.
