In Short

• Coordination Crisis: Landholders claim EnergyCo has failed to coordinate transmission lines, leading to uncoordinated "stampedes" of developers across the Riverina.
• EIS Under Fire: The inquiry heard the Yanco Delta Wind Farm's environmental assessments severely underestimated impacts, including the lack of plans for a 710-person worker camp.
• Community Burden: Local councils in Hay, Murrumbidgee, and Central Darling warn they are being left to shoulder the costs of road destruction, water scarcity, and crashing telecommunications.

Local landholders and council leaders have delivered a scathing assessment of the state’s renewable energy rollout, accusing EnergyCo of failing to coordinate a "planned network" and ignoring the cumulative impacts on rural life.

At a high-stakes parliamentary hearing in Hay last Wednesday, witnesses argued that the "social licence" required for the South West Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) is being fatally undermined by poor consultation and a lack of transparency. Richard Coughlan, secretary of the Bundure District Landholders Group, told the inquiry that despite three years of attempts to seek clarification, farmers are still "not getting many answers."

For residents in the Murrumbidgee and Hay Shires, the energy transition is no longer a distant policy—it is a construction reality. Garry Stoll of Murrumbidgee Council told the inquiry that while the region doesn't want the infrastructure, they are now forced to "leverage the maximum amount of benefit" to offset the damage.

Concerns raised by the Bundure Landholders Group highlight a significant geographical disconnect. Mr. Coughlan noted that the Dinawan substation sits outside the official REZ boundary, creating a planning vacuum that excludes projects to the west while forcing massive infrastructure onto a small group of neighboring farmers.

Cumulative Impacts on the Radar:

Infrastructure: Massive truck movements (up to 3 million km for water carting) are destroying unsealed roads.

Services: Mobile connectivity has dropped to "near zero" near worker camps, and local water treatment plants are struggling to meet demand.

Economics: Neighbors face increased insurance costs, potential property devaluation, and heightened fire risks without adequate compensation.

"It’s been poorly planned, poorly executed, and poorly managed—and we have to live with that for the rest of our lives," Mr. Coughlan told the committee.