The energy transition - Managing impacts on existing land uses

With many of NSW’s remaining coal-fired power stations set to close in the next ten years, the NSW Government is developing renewable energy zones (REZs) to increase capacity in the transmission network to deliver electricity from private renewable energy projects to consumers. The expanding footprint of renewable energy infrastructure has led to increased conflicts with existing land uses, including for both agricultural and mining purposes.

Although NSW has a significant pipeline of large-scale renewable energy projects, the challenge lies in coordinated planning of REZ development to manage the transition from coal power to renewables successfully. This includes recognising the ongoing importance of, and minimising disruption to, coal production, not only for ensuring network reliability, but for the NSW economy more broadly.

In this article, we explore the ongoing relevance of coal mining and impacts of proposed new REZ development on existing coal operations in the Hunter region of NSW.

Future demand for coal in NSW

The Parliament of New South Wales Coal mining in NSW: key statistics research paper provides the following summary of the coal mining industry as at September 2025:[1]

• In 2023-24, the coal mining industry produced 173.5 Mt of saleable coal.
• In 2023-24, coal was NSW’s largest export.
• NSW currently has 35 operational coal mines located across the 5 major NSW coalfields (Gunnedah, Hunter, Newcastle, Southern and Western) and the Gloucester Basin. As of September 2025, mine owners are seeking planning approval for extension of 12 operational mines and 3 mines that have been placed in care and maintenance. Increased coal extraction within the same approval period is being sought for 2 coal mines.

The Hunter region in NSW is the largest regional economy in Australia, with a substantial proportion of total economic output attributable to coal exports.[2] Coal mining is also the largest industry by value and among the top sectors for employment in the Hunter region.[3]

Although the State is transitioning to renewable energy as its primary source of power, there is still a need for mining to respond to long-term global demand for coal. The NSW Government’s Strategic Statement on Coal Exploration and Mining in NSW notes that coal remains a critical energy source globally, supplying over a third of all electricity, and predicts the global demand for thermal coal will remain strong to 2050.[4] Existing coal mines are seeking to extend operations in response to these global needs.

REZ development in the Hunter

The Hunter Transmission Project (HTP) has been identified by the NSW Government as one of the State’s most critical energy infrastructure projects. The HTP, which is being developed by the Energy Corporation of New South Wales (EnergyCo), involves construction of a new 110-kilometre overhead 500 kV transmission line between Bayswater in the Upper Hunter and Olney in the Lower Hunter. The HTP corridor runs mostly through power station and mining land between Bayswater and Broke, the rationale being that it will utilise land that has been subject to previous disturbance to avoid and minimise impacts on the ‘Hunter Region’s landscape’.[5] In particular, the preferred route traverses Hunter Valley Operations, Warkworth Mine and Bulga Coal Mine. This increases the likelihood that the transmission alignment will traverse mining subsidence areas, or areas directly impacted by mining and associated activities, presenting the need to minimise transmission structures within these areas.[6]

Impacts of HTP on coal operations

The environmental impact statement (EIS) for the HTP was on public exhibition from 27 August to 24 September 2025. The submissions made in response to the EIS from the various mining operators impacted by the HTP provide insight into the land use conflict challenges within the HTP corridor. The key issues are summarised below.

Traffic

The Hunter Valley coal chain is the world’s largest and most complex coal chain.[7] The construction of the HTP raises a range of issues associated with traffic management, including on main roads near affected mines. The HTP gives rise to the potential for significant traffic impacts, particularly during construction, and at peak commute times. These impacts will affect large loads that are essential for suppliers to the mines, access roads required for employees and suppliers, and haulage routes for products.

Potential sterilisation of resources

The preferred HTP route directly overlies several mining tenements, many of which are closely located to existing operations and infrastructure. This may directly affect future development of State-owned coal resource.

Clause 2.19 of the State Environmental Planning Policy (Resources and Energy) 2021 requires consideration of whether the HTP is likely to have a significant impact on current or future extraction of minerals (in this case coal). According to the submissions of the mine operators, the HTP EIS does not provide details of the steps that have been taken to avoid or minimise the impact of the HTP on current and the future extraction of coal resources within the affected tenements.

Impacts on non-mining land

The rationale for the preferred HTP route is that it prioritises the use of industrial and mining land so as not to impact the ‘Hunter Region’s landscape’. Hunter Valley Operations’ submission on the HTP EIS, notes, however, that the HTP interacts with and impacts mining buffer land, farming land, and other mine landholdings that are not used for mining.

The issues raised include:

• impact on agricultural lands, which may lead to reduced areas for cropping or grazing or impacts to cropping or grazing operations or practices (and in turn has impacts on third parties using those lands under licence)
• locating sensitive receptors in buffer land areas (e.g. private dwellings and schools) that may impact or constrain mining
• impacts on, and responsibility for, land management obligations are not clear, particularly in relation to bushfire, biosecurity, weed management and other land management practices
• impacts on land value, and
• impacts to biodiversity, which will have a significant value to mining businesses as potential offset areas (particularly if the use of the Biodiversity Conservation Fund for offsetting is curtailed).

Costs to business and NSW

The impacts and costs on the mining industry or specific mining landholder interests arising from the construction and operation of the HTP do not appear to have been adequately addressed in the HTP’s economic assessment.[8] Further, there does not appear to have been any consideration of any impact to NSW due to potential loss of royalty streams over the life of the HTP.

Conclusion

While the submissions to the HTP EIS by various coal mine owners acknowledge that consultation has occurred with EnergyCo about the HTP, it appears the coal mines are feeling forgotten in the EIS which, if the HTP is approved, will provide for how the project is to be carried out.

The potential for land use conflicts is a significant challenge for future renewable energy projects, that will necessitate engagement with the relevant stakeholders, including mine owners/operators and other landholders, NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, NSW Resources, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Where existing mining operations are concerned, it will be essential to consider interaction issues to ensure the life of the mine is not cut short and NSW continues to be able to meet global demand for key resources.