Farmers and rural communities will soon have a handy guide to help navigate the renewable energy transition.
The NSW Farmers Landholder Guide to Renewables has been developed to help answer common questions and dispel myths around who can - and can't - do what as Australia transitions away from coal-fired power.
"It's clear there's an enormous need for people to understand quickly and simply what their place is in this whole situation," NSW Farmers Renewable Energy Taskforce chair Reg Kidd said.
"Government bodies and developers have roles and responsibilities in the energy transition, and we want landholders to understand their rights so they can make informed decisions.
"By providing this guide, we're confident we can get better outcomes for farmers and their communities, so we get the right thing in the right place, and built in the right way."
Inspired by a similar guide produced for Queensland farmers, the NSW Farmers document includes state-specific information and has been developed with the cooperation and assistance of the NSW Government and EnergyCo, the agency responsible for building new transmission lines.
"EnergyCo are charged with building all these new power lines, so it's important we have good lines of communication with them so we can avoid problems," Mr Kidd said.
"Everyone knows the early stages of this process were less than ideal and caused a lot of community angst, but now they're listening to us and talking to us and we're finding ways to get better results.
"I want to thank EnergyCo and the NSW Government for genuinely attempting to right some of the past wrongs in this space and work constructively with farming communities."
