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. Some specific examples of the challenges and conflicts faced by Government and network operators can be seen through the submissions of coal mine operators to the environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed Hunter Transmission Project (HTP) which is being developed by the Energy Corporation of NSW (EnergyCo).

In this article, we explore the potential land use conflicts and impacts between the proposed HTP and existing coal operations in the Hunter region of NSW and the importance of appropriate management of those impacts.

The relevance of coal mining in an energy transition

The Parliament of New South Wales Coal mining in NSW: key statistics research paper provides the following summary of the coal mining industry as of 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 five 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 three mines that have been placed in care and maintenance. Increased coal extraction within the same approval period is being sought for two 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] Some existing coal mines in the Hunter are seeking to extend operations in response to these global needs.

REZ development in the Hunter

The HTP has been identified by the NSW Government as one of the State’s most critical energy infrastructure projects. The project 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]  This positioning 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] Alternatively, careful and coordinated planning is required to reduce the impacts of mining on the HTP (and vice versa) or ensure the HTP infrastructure can withstand those impacts.

Land use conflicts between the HTP and Hunter coal operations

The 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 directly 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 and haulage routes for mining products. Coordination of traffic, particularly during HTP construction, will be a critical timing and safety issue for both the HTP and affected mines.

Direct impacts on and from mining activities

The preferred HTP route directly overlies several mining tenements, many of which are closely located to existing operations and infrastructure. This may directly affect current and future coal extraction, leading to sterilisation 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. According to the submissions of mine operators, further analysis and information is required in relation to the steps that have been taken by EnergyCo to avoid or minimise the impact of the HTP on current and the future extraction of coal resources within the affected tenements.

Conversely, the construction and operation of HTP infrastructure is likely to be directly impacted by mining operations so further challenges lie in coordinating HTP construction schedules with existing mining activities, ensuring appropriate safety interfaces are in place, and designing transmission infrastructure that can withstand certain subsidence and ground vibration impacts.

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’. At least one coal mine 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:

• impacts 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)
• 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.

Costs to business and NSW

According to the submissions of mine operators, 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 addressed in detail in the HTP’s economic assessment. Further, there does not appear to have been consideration of any impact to NSW due to potential loss of royalty streams resulting from any sterilisation of coal resource. Any such costs need to be weighed against the long-term benefits associated with REZ establishment which is necessary to support the transition away from coal-generated power.

Conclusion

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, and Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Where existing mining operations are concerned, it is essential to consider interaction issues with REZ development to ensure:

• the life of the mine is not cut short and can continue to support network reliability during the transition to renewables
• NSW continues to be able to meet global demand for key resources, and
• new REZ development, such as the HTP, is set up for success to support the development of other large-scale renewable energy projects.

[1] Parliament of New South Wales Parliamentary Research Service, Coal mining in NSW: key statistics, Daniel Montoya, September 2025.

[2] Hunter Joint Organisation, https://hunterjo.nsw.gov.au/who-we-are/our-region/.

[3] EnergyCo, Hunter Transmission Project Environmental Impact Statement, August 2025, p47.

[4] State of New South Wales (Department of Regional NSW), Strategic Statement on Coal Exploration and Mining in NSW, 2020.

[5] EnergyCo, Hunter Transmission Project Environmental Impact Statement, August 2025, p51.

[6] EnergyCo, Hunter Transmission Project Environmental Impact Statement, August 2025, p77.

[7] Hunter Valley Coal Chain Coordinator, https://www.hvccc.com.au/.