NSW government apporves trees clearing in Kosciuszko National Park to make way for Snowy 2.0 power lines

Changes to the Snowy 2.0 management plan removed an obligation for transmission lines to be buried underground, despite acknowledgement from the NSW planning authority that constructing overhead lines will impact biodiversity.

Snowy Hydro has been approved to construct two new 330kV overhead transmission lines from the Snowy 2.0 cable yard in Lobs Hole to a new substation to be constructed at Maragle and a grid connection between the new substation and Transgrid's existing line.

Around 118 hectares of native land will be disturbed in the national park and Bago State Forest if the project receives Commonwealth approval and environment groups are ignored.

The Canberra Bushwalking Club and National Parks Association NSW were among dozens of groups who made a submission opposing the development, imploring energy operator TransGrid to seek an alternative solution to overhead power lines.

In its approval decision, the NSW planning department concluded that while other options were technically feasible and would reduce environmental impacts, alternative options would be expensive and would constrain Transgrid's project objectives, including connecting Snowy 2.0 to the national energy market in a timely manner.

Gary Dunnett, National Parks Association NSW chief executive officer, said Snowy Hydro and Transgrid had made a very deliberate decision to select overhead transmission, as way of reducing costs.

Mr Dunnett said international standards for energy transmission, particularly in environmentally sensitive areas, had thoroughly shifted to underground options.

"Here we are in the middle of Kosciusko National Park clearing a transmission easement eight kilometres long by 140 meters wide," he said.

"It's going to be awful."

The NSW planning department has applied an offset approach for the project, requiring Snowy Hydro Limited to invest $10.59 million to "achieve a net improvement in the biodiversity values" of the national park.

"The department recognises that the project would impact on biodiversity values, however, considers that subject to the recommended conditions, including minimisation of impacts during the detailed design of the project, a range of flora and fauna management measures, and by offsetting the residual biodiversity impacts of the project, the impacts would not significantly impact the biodiversity values of the locality," the assessment report states.

Mr Dunnett said, bizarrely, one of the offsets Snowy suggested was the construction of a new camping ground, to be located under the power lines.

"Can you imagine going off into that wilderness experience with the humming lines above you? It's not a very appealing prospect," he said.

A NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service spokesman said Snowy 2.0, which involves linking two existing dams, through 27 kilometres of tunnels and construction of a new underground power station, was a vitally important project for NSW's transition to renewable energy.

Scheduled to begin generating power in 2025, Snowy 2.0 has been promised to provide an additional 2000 megawatts of on-demand generating capacity and approximately 350,000 megawatt hours of large-scale storage to the national market.

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The NSW spokesman said the power lines maximum disturbance area within Kosciuszko was limited to 81 hectares, with maximum native vegetation to be cleared limited to 37 hectares and partially cleared limited to 38 hectares.

A Transgrid spokesperson said Snowy 2.0 and the Snowy 2.0 Transmission Connection Project had been deemed critical to NSW for economic, environmental and social reasons.

"The project is necessary to enable the transmission of clean energy generated by Snowy 2.0 and support the nation's transition to a renewable energy future," a spokesperson said.

"Our team has assessed the option of placing the proposed overhead transmission underground, considering numerous factors including technical feasibility, constructability, network planning requirements, cost to consumers and environmental impacts."

Mr Dunnett said Snowy Hydro had consistently claimed that Snowy 2.0 was a renewable energy project, which was incorrect.

"Snowy 2.0 is nothing more than a battery, which will accept whatever energy is available at the cheapest rate," he said.

"Our planet is facing the dual crises of biodiversity loss and global heating.

"It is ludicrous to sacrifice biodiversity and natural landscapes for renewable energy initiatives."

Construction of the overhead power lines will now depend on a decision from Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, expected to be handed down later this month.

Earlier this week, Ms Plibersek declared the Australian alpine region one of 20 places of special environmental significance, as part of the release of the threatened species action plan.

In light of the priority listing, key recovery actions will be determined in Kosciuszko and Namadgi National Park, to improve environmental outcomes.