Renewable energy is an important part of the regional economy of the Yorke and Mid North, with significant amounts of existing generation and transmission infrastructure, and a pipeline of proposed projects valued in excess of $8 billion.
This infrastructure and these projects play an important part in the transition towards decarbonisation, and create significant economic opportunities locally. However, these come with trade offs around competing land uses and the impact(s) on landscapes and ecosystems.
The following resources have been collated in response to questions raised with RDA Yorke and Mid North to assist local communities and stakeholders who are interested in understanding more about renewable energy infrastructure and projects in our region. Click the links (in green) below to access the resources.
Energy systems
- Why is the generation mix changing, and why is coal use growing elsewhere?
- Why don’t windfarms operate more consistently
- Australian Energy Council – Capacity factors: Understanding the misunderstood
- CSIRO GenCost report – data on construction, operating costs, capacity factors for generation across technologies
- Open Electricity – open-source platform for accessing energy generation and related data, as published by generators and market participants/regulators
- Why aren’t projects collectively better coordinated and planned?
- The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has produced an overarching plan for identifying options for developing the energy grid within the National Energy Market (NEM) to 2050, taking into consideration forecast demand, prospective renewable zones, potential transmission corridors and other considerations.
- Is there information showing energy generation and infrastructure in one place?
- The Department for Energy and Mining publishes a series of maps depicting energy infrastructure (including different generation types and transmission infrastructure):
- More information is being sought on a single, consolidated map with all information included.
- Are there any studies of the impact of wind farms in terms of frost?
- RDA has not identified any peer-reviewed research on this topic, but will continue researching and update this page accordingly.
Processes for considering projects – consultation and assessment
- How is information collected through engagement on projects and proposals used and considered?
- How can benefits be shared more equitably with communities impacted by projects
- Project proponents resolve their community benefit sharing models as part of their project delivery plans (often included in their environmental impact assessments submitted for their planning and development approvals).
- Various resources have been produced to provide guidance about how community benefit sharing models might work, which may be useful to communities when neogitating with project proponents:
- Clean Energy Council – A Guide to Benefit Sharing Options for Renewable Energy Projects
- Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water – Guides to community engagement and benefit sharing (includes examples of frameworks from other jurisdictions in Australia)
- How are native vegetation impacts considered
- Native vegetation impacts are considered as part of the assessment process of the development application made for a project. This typically triggers a review process by the Native Vegetation Council
- Native vegetation impacts are considered as part of the assessment process of the development application made for a project. This typically triggers a review process by the Native Vegetation Council
- Where do people go to make submissions and have their say?
- All development applications lodged in South Australia are published on the Development Application register maintained by the State Planning Commission. Notified developments (those requiring public consultation – incuding generation and transmission projects) are also published under a separate section, with members of the public able to lodge submissions under each development:
- Network projects are subjected to an independent economic regulatory process administered by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) to ensure the benefits of a proposed project outweigh the costs before the project expenditures are approved (and network operators allowed to collect revenue from these expenditures). This process (the Regulatory Investment Test or RIT) involves public consultation, with members of the public able to make submissions to help inform decision making by the AER.
- All development applications lodged in South Australia are published on the Development Application register maintained by the State Planning Commission. Notified developments (those requiring public consultation – incuding generation and transmission projects) are also published under a separate section, with members of the public able to lodge submissions under each development:
- What role does Council play in these processes?
- Councils’ role(s) in generation and transmission projects depend on the nature of the individual projects, but typically involve infrastructure and traffic management agreements at a minimum. Councils (as any other body) can make submissions to regulatory and planning consultation processes, and may play a role in supporting the administration of community benefit funds or similar programs.
- Will local communities receive funding to support local advocacy?
- RDA has not identified any dedicated funding to support local advocacy activities in relation to specific projects.
- The Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner is an independent role appointed by the Australian Government to receive complaints from the public about issues or concerns with energy projects, provide advice on best practice in the energy space, and work with industry, government and communities to assist in making the energy transition smoother and fairer.
- Separately, Rural Business Support provides the Landowner Information Service – a free support service (funded by South Australian Government) to provide independent advice to landowners and communities impacted by proposed exploration, mining and energy projects about the rights and responsibilities with respect to land access.
- RDA has not identified any dedicated funding to support local advocacy activities in relation to specific projects.
Ntx project-specific questions
- Anybody with questions regarding ElectaNet’s NtX project is encouraged to engage with the Project Team directly to ensure they access current information.
- Responses to frequently asked questions are available via ElectraNet’s project FAQ page
- For completeness, the following questions were raised during the information sessions hosted by RDA Yorke and Mid North on renewables and transmission in Eudunda and Riverton in February 2026:
- Can undergrounding of transmission lines be considered
- Would a longer project option built through more marginal/pastoral country be cheaper than one built through more productive cropping country
- What considerations are had for sound pollution for (potentially) impacted residents with medical conditions/disability
- Is there a cost change to insurance and fire risk with transmission infrastructure
- What are the capital gains tax implications for land that is either acquired or payments made for easements
- What consultation is being done around a ‘fifth’ corridor
- Will communities in southern areas (Marrabel, Hamley Bridge, Kapunda et al) be consulted
- Will joint/broader sessions be held rather than consultation in individual communities
- Will local communities receive funding to support local advocacy