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Bookaar Solar Farm

New England Solar Farm

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UPC Renewables Australia is developing the New England Solar Farm, a major grid-connected solar farm in the Uralla Shire. Let’s take a look at the project and some of the opposition it’s currently up against.

New England Solar Farm

New England Solar Farm (source:newenglandsolarfarm.com.au)
New England Solar Farm Proposed Location (source:newenglandsolarfarm.com.au)

The 2700ha project will be 600-800MW depending on what approval UPC are able to get from the Uralla Shire Council. They’ve promised $150,000 – $200,000 a year for 25 years for the local community to go towards funding, partnerships, education, tourism and more. 

According to the official website, up to 500 jobs will be made during the construction of the solar farm (around 36 months) and if the New England Solar Farm ends up with battery storage (which is looking very possible), more jobs will be created. 

The farm is expected to generate enough renewable energy to power around 250,000 homes in New South Wales.

New England Solar Farm Opposition

We’ve seen a bit of solar farm opposition lately – it’s good to see companies being held to account, but the legitimacy of the claims seem to vary quite widely. The proposed New England Solar Farm has resulted in the creation of The Uralla, Walcha Community Action Group for Responsible Solar and Wind Development, a group of residents who would like the southern side of the project to be cancelled, citing social, economic and environmental impacts.

“It’s obvious that the north west more than anywhere else in the state has more at risk,” the group’s advisor Mark Fogarty said in comments repeated by the Northern Daily Leader.

“Therefore it’s imperative that the community entrust with the councils the right planning authority to ensure the balance between development and community interest.”

In response, UPC Renewables have reduced the project’s southern area by 50%, according to Killian Wentrup from UPC. 

“Landowners across the proposed site and many others in the wider community support our plans and the benefits it can bring to Uralla,” he said. 

As another example, the Bookaar solar farm was rejected last year. There’s no news on reapplying on their website, with a news article on their site noting that the Corangamite Shire will ‘miss out on local jobs and $150m of investment’. It’s a bit of a touchy subject as there are certainly some farms which need to go back to the drawing board before they’re approved, but there is also a surfeit of NIMBYs with some…interesting ideas as to what people should be able to do with their own property. 

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Bookaar Solar Farm Rejected | Solar Farm Opposition

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We wrote back in August about the opposition the Bookaar Solar Farm in Camperdown was experiencing from residents, and on Wednesday they were pleased to see the application for the farm rejected by the Corangamite Shire. Usually we’re pretty down on ostensible NIMBYism like people opposing solar farms, but this one needs a few adjustments before it’s suitable. 

Bookaar Solar Farm Rejected

Bookaar Solar Farm Rejected
Bookaar Solar Farm Application Rejected (source: bookaarsolarfarm.com)

The Bookaar Solar Farm was a joint project between Infinergy Pacific and the McArthur family who own the land. It was to feature 700,000 solar panels to generate 200MW – developed by Bookaar Renewables Pty Ltd.

After the meeting rejecting their proposal, a spokesperson said “We’ll take some time to review the decision” so we’ll have to wait and see what happens 

According to the ABC, the list of concerns the Bookaar Solar Farm opponents listed was many and varied:

  • Visual Amenity
  • Road use during construction.
  • Glint and flare
  • Firerisk and firefighting access concerns.
  • Night lighting effects
  • Wildlife impact
  • Drainage issues
  • Noise
  • Nearby property devaluations
  • Micro-climate changes

Councillor Simon Illingworth discussed the issues at a meeting of the Corangamite Shire on Tuesday to see if the farm should go ahead:

“(the solar farm is) not a bad proposal but it’s in an inappropriate locality”.

“There’s been a lot of emotion and finger-pointing in this, but strip that out and it’s a planning decision,” Cr Trotter said.

“In a planning sense, it’s a lineball call, but I will come down on the side of the community.”

Other councillors discussed how they have no guidance from the State Government – in stark opposition to wind farms, which require approval by the state planning minister. Solar farm approval falls to local government who are often….less knowledgeable than they could be about issues like this. 

Local dairy farmer in Bookaar, Andrew Dynhoven, had some interesting things to say from an opponent’s perspective:

“I’m not against solar,” he said.

“I’m investigating solar to go on my dairy because we are a big user of power.

“But it’s been indicated now by this decision that there’s not enough governance, or regulation, or information for us or for councils.”

We’ll keep an eye on this and let you know if Bookaar Renewables Pty Ltd decide to challenge this decision or put in a new application!

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Bookaar Solar Farm | Timeline, Opposition & More

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The $150m, 200MW Bookaar Solar Farm in Victoria is set to start construction in July next year, if local residents trying to scupper the plans don’t have their way.

Bookaar Solar Farm

Bookaar Solar Farm Location
Bookaar Solar Farm Location (source: Google Maps)

The 200MW Bookaar Solar Farm will feature around 700,000 solar panels, according to the ABC. It is located 10 km to the north of Camperdown, in South West Victoria. It’s being developed by Bookaar Renewables Pty Ltd (a partnership between the landowners and Infinergy Pacific)

According to the official website, there are six main reasons they chose that particular location:

  • Good degree of flat land within the land holding.
  • Good solar resource.
  • Simple grid connection options onsite, with capacity on the lines for the required generation size.
  • Extensive farming land.
  • Good transportation links and site access.
  • Low visual impact – they are hoping to add to existing screening by planting a vegetation screen around the perimeter of the solar farm so neighbour views aren’t as obstructed.

During the construction period it is estimated that the project could provide jobs for up to 150 workers over the course of a year and more.  Following this, 12 full time local jobs will be created over the 30 year operational period of the project. 

The project’s Planning Application and Assessments will be submitted to the Corangamite Shire Council in May 2018.  If approved, construction will begin in late 2019 and be completed by late 2019 or early 2020. 

“The development would be operational for 30 years, after which it would be decommissioned and the site returned to its pre-development status,” the application to council states.

With that said, there is still some solar farm opposition due to its planned size.

Bookaar Solar Farm Opposition

The farm is estimated to be around 6 square kilometres in size, in comparison to Camperdown (where the farm will be built near) which is only 4 square kilometres. As a result, some of the residents are a little uneasy about the impact this farm may have on their investments/lives.

Over 30 people turned up to a meeting a fortnight ago where the Boookaar Community Action Group discussed the ‘immense’ size of the project. 

“The clincher is that it’s 605 hectares, over 1500 acres, just by sheer size it’s an immense problem,” Chair of the group Andrew Duynhoven told the meeting.

“The actual solar farm is the size of Camperdown, plus a quarter.

“It’s massive. It’ll probably be the biggest solar farm application in Australia at the moment.”

Dynhoven elaborated that he is pro-solar but the ‘sheer scale’ of the farm is making them nervous:

“I’m not against solar. I’d love to have solar on the dairy, and in the near future that will occur, but I’m against the sheer scale of this.”

Given the small size of Camperdown and the big solar farm, it is more understandable than most solar farm NIMBY opposition. The residents are also concerned about glint, glare, and the classic: using ‘prime agricultural land’ to build a solar farm. 

A public information meeting will be held at the Camperdown botanic gardens at 1pm on Sunday for anyone interested in following this along. Further discussion about the farm can be found on The Standard‘s website. 

 

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