hv transmission is how we get electricity from place to place, regardless of how it's generated though? could this new line be required to deal with shoring up the grid more than renewables specifically? i remember last time poorly maintained transmission lines collapsed in a storm somehow renewable power was to blame also...
I'm not a farmer so i couldn't say how the growth rate of potatoes is affected by overhead lines, but I'd imagine that open cut pits/haul roads/rail lines are equally detrimental? then there's water table damage on top of that...
