NTx Power Line Project Threatens SA Food Bowl

0:00It's April 27th. This is Adelaide News today, your AI-powered local news. Electronet is planning a big new power line project called the Northern Transmission Project, or NTX, to boost electricity links across South, Australia from the mid-north to greater Adelaide and Waiala. But growers in the Northern Adelaide Plains are sounding the alarm, saying one route could slice right through their prime food bowl that pumps out. For $1.5 billion in fresh produce every year. Last week, the company reached out to a few landowners to kick off community talks on three possible paths for the southern stretch. One hugging outer. North Adelaide, another through the mid-north and a third east of Gollor. AUSVG says CEO Jordan Brooke Barnett calls the Adelaide option a disaster waiting to happen. Growers worry, those towering lines would mess with pivot irrigators, tractors, harvesting gear, and even lock them out of parts of their land under.

1:00Easement rules. The fresh produce industry is already hurting, with 30-40% of farmers eyeing an exit because times are so tough. Electronet's project director Dave Tancel pushes back, noting it's super early days with no route locked in yet. They say NTX is key to handling a jobs boom and surging power demand while keeping supply reliable and cheap. And they'll keep chatting with locals too. Minimize headaches. A draft report assessing options, costs, and benefits drop soon. But the final call on the route won't come until mid-2026. For now, AUSVG is pushing hard for that Gollor eastern path to keep the food both thriving.