Australia’s power companies are pursuing various transmission buildouts as part of a broader effort to adopt renewables. Like in the U.S., the infrastructure projects face pushback from affected landowners. However, the pushback is quite different: They seek compromise, as opposed to complete disbandment.
Just check out this article over at ABC Australia on the conflicts surrounding a new project. Some landowners in the area want better payouts, others want the utility to put the line underground. All of them seem to understand that the project is important for Australia as a whole.
This contrasts quite starkly with the pushback American utilities so often face from community interest groups, who seem hellbent on stopping the projects altogether.
What explains the different tone of the conversation Downunder? Is it because of deep rooted cultural differences? Or, perhaps, utilities and the government have done a better job advertising the purpose and urgency of a better transmission system?