To date, the electricity in Australia's main national grid has been primarily generated by coal-fired power stations.

Now, the majority of our coal-fired power plants are retiring, with most due to close by 2035.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) is the body responsible for forecasting and operating our main national grid, the National Electricity Market. In their most recent Integrated System Plan, AEMO reaffirms that "renewable energy, connected by transmission and distribution, firmed with storage and backed up by gas, presents the least-cost way to supply secure and reliable electricity."

Switching to renewable energy sources also keeps Australia aligned with the rest of the world, as we work to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate the worst impacts of climate change.

Investment in large-scale renewable energy projects flow through to regional communities through many different types of agreements and activities. Community benefit sharing, while the most community-centred and flexible aspect of this, is ideally the cherry on top of a project that has strong agreements with local landholders, local governments and traditional owners, as well as robust impact mitigation strategies. 

1. Cost of doing business

   • Land use
     Land access agreements and payments to landholders/farms, neighbour payments, and Indigenous Land Use Agreements with Traditional Owners

   • Local Government
     Infrastructure contributions, rates or payments in lieu of rates, Community Benefit Agreements (QLD)

   • Jobs and contracts
     Most jobs associated with renewable projects are during planning and construction, however there will be some ongoing work required for the life of the project

2. Impact mitigation

   Often required as a bare minimum by planning frameworks to minimise impacts and risks associated with development

   • Utilities & workforce accomodation
     Road upgrades to facilitate heavy road use, widening of intersections measures to ensure workforce and project construction does not create undue pressure on local water supply, landfill capacity, utilities, housing

   • Environmental
     Avoiding biodiverse areas, minimising clearing, biodiversity offsets,stormwater retention and management,  active and ongoing threatened species and habitat protection, visual amenity measures

   • Services
     Ensuring construction workforce doesn’t cause undue pressures on local medical and social services

   • Economic
     Impacts on tourism if accommodation is taken up by workers instead of holiday makers

3. Community benefits & emerging practice going beyond compliance

   Making the local region better than it was before. Sometimes required in planning frameworks and access schemes, but not always.

   • Investing in local workers and local economies
     Reducing barriers and prioritising local skills, jobs, suppliers, supporting/investing in affordable housing supply

   • Sensitive project design
     Designing the project, e.g. roads and fences to improve compatibility with agricultural use or conservation efforts such as wildlife corridors

   • Co-ownership or co-investment models
     Partnering with local entities in direct co-ownership structures and/or gifting shares to project neighbours

   • Community benefit sharing programs
     Annual grant programs available for the life of the project, employee volunteer programs, community/corporate partnerships, revolving energy funds.

   • Environment
     Ongoing contributions to conservation efforts beyond compliance, such as supporting local indigenous ranger programs or making available environmental data collected on site.

   • Improving local energy systems
     Local energy bill discounts, providing feasibility and finance for local energy projects such as solar installations, microgrids and batteries, supporting low-income households with access to energy efficiency upgrades.

Thanks to Community Power Agency for review and input into these points

The short answer: Building transmission lines underground might ease some concerns around their impact on the look and feel of a place – but it’s not necessarily a better outcome, for us or the environment.

Transmission lines are a necessary part of our energy system. They transport energy from power generators – like coal-fired power plants, solar farms, wind farms, and energy storage facilities – to where it is needed, in our homes and businesses.

The option of building them underground might ease some concerns around their impact on the look and feel of a place – but it’s not necessarily a better outcome, for us or the environment.

Building transmission lines underground is a lot more expensive. Placing transmission lines underground is estimated to be anywhere from three times to more than ten times the cost, compared to placing lines overhead. That additional cost would be paid for by all of us through our electricity bills. Not to mention, it would take years longer to deliver.

It’s also not necessarily safer or more convenient. There are significant land disturbance issues associated with the initial trenching works, and accessing underground lines for maintenance is more invasive, as soil – including any crops on top of the line – must be dug up if there are faults. In contrast, overhead lines accommodate the majority of agricultural land uses.

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How much power a wind farm is feeding into our grid depends on a lot of factors, such as the number and size of the turbines and how windy the site is.

Wind farms in Australia today range from the very small – such as the 4.1 megawatt Hepburn Wind Farm with its two turbines, which powers around 2,000 homes – to the large. The 528 MW Stockyard Hill Wind Farm is our largest fully operational wind project, which powers around 425,000 homes.

In total, Australia's wind farms produced 16% of our total electricity in the last year to February 2026. Not bad for machines that use nothing beyond the wind nature blows our way.

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