Wind Farm Commissioner’s role expanded as clash over high voltage power lines looms

A clash between farmers and electricity transmission companies is looming as the rapid growth in renewable energy sparks the need for new high voltage power lines across regional areas.

The transmission network needs major upgrades across the eastern states so that new wind and solar farms can feed electricity into the grid and distribute power generated by the Snowy 2.0 hydropower project.

In anticipation of disputes over the location of new lines, the federal government is…