Renewed calls to underground HumeLink project as Commonwealth helps fund Marinus Link cable

The Commonwealth has agreed to help fund the $3.8 million Marinus Link energy project, which includes 90 kilometres of underground cable in Victoria, as part of Labor's Rewiring the Nation commitment.

Farmers across NSW have been fighting for the HumeLink transmission line to be moved underground to prevent a 360-kilometre "scar of environmental destruction" and are now urging the federal government to match its funding for the Marinus Link to other energy projects.

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"The Marinus Link is a great win for Victoria but this commitment to deliver better and more sustainable transmission needs to extend to all transmission projects," HumeLink Alliance member Michael Katz said.

"Otherwise the future looks pretty bleak for the 2500 hectares of land, spanning from Wagga and Kosciusko National Park to the edge of the beautiful Southern Highlands, that will be directly impacted by HumeLink."

Mr Katz said the current plan for HumeLink, which involves hundreds of 70-metre tall towers across the landscape, will result in Transgrid bulldozing "through old-growth forests and heritage sites" - adversely impacting farming communities, destroying habitats and increasing bush fire risk.

Transgrid has investigated the feasibility of moving the line underground and found it would skyrocket the cost of the project from $3.3 billion to $11.5 billion, while also delaying construction by up to two years and putting the state's energy security at risk.

"The security of the NSW electricity network is contingent on the delivery of HumeLink in the regulator approved timeframe of 2026," a spokesperson said.

"The project involves significant distances and as such the placement of the cables underground is not cost effective."

One of the state's largest infrastructure projects, the project aims to future-proof the energy network by connecting the Snowy Hydro 2.0 with a new substation at Wagga and upgraded sites in Maragle and Bannaby, near Goulburn.

Mr Katz urged the federal government to distribute the remaining funds in the $20 billion Rewiring the Nation plan to transform the electricity grid in a sustainable manner.

"The reality is that if we are truly committed to delivering green energy, we need that to be looked at end-to-end and not just think in terms of generation," he said.

"Transmission must also have minimal impact of the environment ... [and] replacing trees with 85-metre-high carbon intensive steel poles is not very green in most people's thinking."

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