Veggie growers fight to stop power line cutting through prime SA land
The fresh produce sector’s peak body fears SA’s electricity transmission network operator could send power lines “smack bang through the middle” of the northern food bowl.
AUSVEG SA CEO Jordan Brooke-Barnett says “a few” owners of prime food-producing land in the Adelaide Plains have been contacted by ElectraNet as the company explores options for its new Northern Transmission Project (NTx).
Brooke-Barnett, who represents the interests of the state’s fresh produce sector, claimed any development of powerlines through the region would “cause significant disruption to an intensive production region producing in excess of $1.5 billion worth of produce per annum”.
Landholders were contacted last week as ElectraNet started preliminary community engagement work over three options for the NTx route.
Brooke-Barnett said the greater Adelaide route “goes smack bang through the middle of the Northern Adelaide food bowl”.
It would mean the construction of power towers about 50m to 60m tall on prime food land, he claimed.
“That’s a real problem for us, due to the intensive nature of the industry,” Brooke-Barnett said, noting the region grows about $1.5 billion worth of produce per year.
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“There’s the issue of farming under these towers, and the regulations around easements mean a lot of our growers would lose access to their land.
“These towers get in the way of pivot irrigators; they cause issues for tractors, machinery, and harvesting.”
But ElectraNet NTx project director Dave Tansell said NTx was “in the early planning phase… and we continue to engage with the community at every step as we look at options that would minimise impact and maximise benefits for the state and for regional communities”.
Once completed, he claimed NTx would strengthen electricity transmission connections between the Mid North, Greater Adelaide and Whyalla.
ElectraNet is currently assessing three different options for the southern section of NTx: one that travels through the outer north of Adelaide, one that cuts through the Mid North and another via the east of Gawler.
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Tansell said SA was “on the cusp of a once-in-a-generation jobs boom and economic opportunity that will significantly increase electricity demand across the state”.
“The Northern Transmission Project (NTx) is the key to unlocking this opportunity by increasing the transmission network’s capacity. This will ensure reliable and sustainable electricity supply for South Australians at the lowest cost,” he said.
“While network requirements determine the start and finishing points for NTx, at this early stage, the route between has not been chosen and no decisions have been made. ElectraNet will continue to engage with local communities including landholders to help inform the development and design of the project.”
But Brooke-Barnett said the “ideal route” is the one travelling north from east of Gawler.
“We’re already in an industry at the moment where 30 to 40 per cent of our growers want to get out of it because of how tough it is,” Brooke-Barnett claimed.
“It could have a real economic impact on an industry where we need our farmers farming for the benefit of all Australians.”
In an ElectraNet factsheet about how the company hopes to minimise impacts on farming land, the company said it hoped to “limit impacts and keep businesses operating smoothly while delivering the infrastructure that supports South Australia’s energy future”.
In October last year, agricultural communities in the region also called for ElectraNet to explore an alternative pathway for NTx after the privately-owned company unveiled four routes for the potential towers in August.
About 200 locals were at the community-led meeting held over the plan in the Mid-North town of Riverton in October, and 105 attended in Marrabel.
ElectraNet is expected to release a Project Assessment Draft Report in the coming weeks, which will outline the need for the project, the options considered and an assessment of costs and benefits.
A final decision on the preferred route is not expected before mid-2026.
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