Goulburn Mulwaree Council has raised significant concerns in response to the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) of a proposed solar farm near Marulan.
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Terrain Solar is seeking approval through NSW Planning to build a large-scale solar energy project at 740 Carrick Rd, Carrick, located 5km west of Marulan.
According to Terrain Solar, the state significant project will produce approximately 150 megawatts of energy and will be used to send clean, renewable power into the grid, generating enough energy to power approximately 39,000 homes in NSW.
Though, at the council meeting on Tuesday, October 18, councillor Michael Prevedello questioned just how much community consultation had gone on.
"How do we make sure what is proposed is known?" he said.
In a review of the EIS sent to Terrain Solar, Goulburn Mulwaree Council wrote: "Community consultation to date would appear to be unsuccessful in letting people know that the project is even proposed".
Within the EIS, Terrain Solar acknowledged that broad community sentiment had not been sought out or heard and 'stakeholders generally expressed that more community engagement would be valued'.
The EIS recommended that the Community and Stakeholder Engagement Plan be updated to seek this broader sentiment. However, Goulburn Mulwaree Council said the consultation should have occurred before the exhibition of the EIS.
"Community consultation after exhibition of the EIS will seem tokenistic if the decision has already been made to proceed with inadequate consultation at this point in the approval process," the council wrote in its review.
The review also raised concerns regarding a lack of suitable accommodation during the construction phase of the project, with the council preferencing the utilisation of local workers.
According to Terrain Solar, the project will employ approximately 300 people during the peak of construction and about five full-time operational workers.
Referring to SQM Research, the EIS showed in March 2022 the rental vacancy rate in Goulburn was 0.9 per cent, with just 41 properties available.
Goulburn Mulwaree Council argued that a vacancy rate of less than one per cent was almost "non-existent" and raised concerns that any small change to the availability of accommodation would impact the most vulnerable in the community.
Other councillors, including Andy Wood, expressed concerns regarding the use of the land for agriculture and what would be done with the technology when it "ran out".
According to Terrain Solar, the proposed solar farm will have an initial life span of approximately 30-35 years and is not anticipated to result in any permanent changes to the landscape.
However, in its review, council noted potential effects on the land could include localised erosion from panels, reduced soil permeability and the impact of metal or concrete structures in contact with acidic or saline soils.
The council also expressed concerns regarding how Terrain Solar intended to manage wastewater-generating facilities and increased stormwater runoff.
During the council meeting, Director of Planning and Environment Scott Martin said the council wanted to be sure the state would pay some amount of contribution to Goulburn Mulwaree for hosting the solar farm.
Mr Martin emphasised that this could be works-in-kind such as road upgrades and not necessarily solely monetary compensation.
In its review, the council wrote: "The intersection of Munro and M31 (Hume Highway) is substandard and cannot safely cater for the traffic generated by the development" and recommended narrow areas of Munro Road be widened to seven metres.
Mayor Peter Walker said this was not the first solar farm to be built in the area and it wouldn't be the last.
"We're setting the mark here," he said.
The councillors unanimously passed the motion to request additional information from Terrain Solar.
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