Bomen Solar Farm

In my opinion, one of the few negatives about the Bomen PV generation
development is its substantial negative visual impact for residents
living on the eastern side of the solar farm. To try to minimise this
visual impact I would propose that:
a) a couple of north - south oriented lines of vegetation be
integrated into the layout to ameliorate the broad continuous band of
solar panels which will be obvious to any person viewing the site from
many kilometres on its eastern side as the site is gently sloping with
an easterly aspect.
(b) a tree line visual buffer be established along the eastern
boundary designed to obtain a specific height (say 10 metres) after 10
years,
(c) these vegetation lines to be planted and deemed to be established
before the commissioning of the facility.

1 This property has been neglected over the years and now grows noxious
weeds such as Bathurst Burr, Khali weed and Hairy Panic, all of which
multiply each season. By putting sheep on to graze will only spread
the weeds. Wind and water run-off will cause these weeds to spread
onto the neighbouring properties. Renew told us the land would not be
cleared or dug-up in the process of building the farm. Water from
storms will effect the whole valley, we have seen that in recent
years.
2 The promised tree lines to screen the panels will take 10-15 years
to grow. Renew say they are uneconomical.
3 The promised $100,000 to be held in trust for the locals to be used
to beautify the surrounds has now not been mentioned.
4 This land is not flat, as Renew states, quite a gentle rise staring
into the neighbours houses to the east. This will devalue these
properties looking into these panels every daylight hour. The photos
they are presenting are not true.
5 They have now stated the panels could rise up to four metres in
height in some areas.
6 We object to this solar farm in it's present form, but not solar
farms in general

This is a very impressive project for inland NSW i.e. Wagga Wagga. The
proposed solar farm will not only boost regional economy but its move
towards Sustainable future. By this project CO2 emission for 100 MW
generation will be reduced drastically for Riverina region. For local
industries and domestic homes this project is boon to control energy
price and run sustainable business as well.

18 May 2018

The Renew Estate proposal for an electricity power generation plant
comprising of 400,000 solar panels is indeed a significant development
proposal especially for the Eunony Valley Community (34 homes) who
will be negatively impacted by this proposal. The land area of this
solar farm proposal when overlaid on a map will cover an area larger
than Wagga Wagga's CBD, home to 9,000 people. It will be a massive
development dominating Eunony valley for possibly 30 years.

I object to the establishment of a 265 hectare solar farm (400,000
solar panels) as it is described in Renewed Estate's Environmental
Impact Statement (EIS) for the following reasons:
1. The proposed site: The EIS, identifies class 3 (96%) and class 5
(4%) soils on the proposed 265 hectares. This does not clearly reflect
the topography of the proposed development site. It has over 40 metres
of elevation from bottom to top of the proposed site. The proposed
site comprises approx. 25% of the total Bomen Industrial Precinct. It
dominates the eastern bank of the Eunony Valley. The drip lines
identified in the EIS are actually creeks. The main creek impacted by
storm water from the proposed 400,000 glass surface panels will be
Schiller"s Creek which has a history of severe flooding across
neighbouring properties leading to and crossing Windmill Lane. These
documented flood events (WWCC & EPA records) have occurred in the past
from storm events as well as from the former woolcombing plant dams
overflowing. The point being that the proposed Renew Estate
development proposal is on land which, in the past, has caused major
flooding on lower lands. The EIS does not clearly address this
problem.
A condition of consent should be bunding around the lower borders of
the solar farm and employing strategies to contain all storm water on
site.
Furthermore, other alternative solar farm sites have not been
considered by Renew Estate. None are named in their EIS. This suggests
Renew Estate has little local knowledge, or history. There is less
inhabited land and suitable electricity infrastructure near the
Uranquinty Powerstation about 30 kms away. This should be considered
being less disruptive to individual residents and communities compared
with the Bomen site.
2. Visual impact: An electricity power generating plant in full view
of Eunony Valley residents will have a negative visual impact, a loss
of amenity and possibly devalue properties. The proposed solar farm
screening is insufficient. Border tree/foilage planting will take
nearly the life of the proposal (25-30 years) to have any desired
effect for those lower lying residents, with little or no amelioration
for those living higher in the valley. The proposal is large and will
dominate the area and vista for neighbours, including myself, being
visible for kilometres. Renew Estate proposes to offer the Community
$100,00 for visual enhancement of Eunony Valley. They would be advised
to spend this money on site to develop rows of trees and foliage
interspersed with rows of solar panels to allow for better screening
given the elevation of the proposed site. On site plantings could be
done so as not to shadow solar panels. Residents should not be
responsible for screening their properties from the Renew Estate solar
farm.
3. Potential glare: Although the proposal claims little or no glare
(2%) from their 400,000 tracking solar panels, experience elsewhere
such as the Royalla solar farm (NSW) disputes this claim ( Royalla
residents warns Williamsdale on glare, as farm goes Dutch- Canberra
Times Feb 6 2016).
4. Inadequate details for future decommissioning of solar farm.
A bond to cover decommissioning costs is essential and should be
deposited by Renew Estate as a condition of consent, if their proposal
is approved.
This is especially necessary given that Renew Estate has no track
record in building and operating electricity generation plants (solar
farms). Rather, they have four solar farm proposals in different
stages of planning across NSW and QLD. Their partners Beast Solutions,
likewise, have conducted studies for several renewable energy
projects, though all are in preliminary stages as at May 2018. WIRSOL,
a financial contributor to the project, have no solar farms in
Australia and a presence of less than 12 months here.
There has been a run on development applications for renewable
electricity generation plants across the Riverina ($750m worth
according to Daily Advertiser). As new electricity generation
technologies develop over the next thirty years (the life of the
proposal), the proposed solar farm's profitability may decline. Change
of ownership or company rationalization may cause the proposed solar
farm to be abandoned. Without proper disposal and clean-up orders
obeyed the WWCC and residents would bear the environmental and
possibly financial cost. Bomen's Industrial history shows this would
not be an isolated incident. Michelle Leathers, Laminex's sanda -dust
and Wool Combing plant are some examples of Bomen Industrial sites
left polluted after abandonment.




Regards
Ron Kerr.

As a local land owner, I am objecting to the proposed Bomen Solar
project. It is my opinion that the following points require further
clarification and commitment from Renew Estate.

- Lack of a vegetation screening plan after having said they would do.
- Renew Estate staff said they wouldn't put more trees in as it is not
economically worthwhile - after having said they would.
- No commitment to put money aside in Trust for the
removal/remediation of site - they said they would.
-The land is sloping, NOT FLAT as they are stating.
- Their photos from residences are inaccurate and do not show the
breadth of visual impact. A clear example of misleading information.
- Houses and properties will have significant visual impact from the
development.
- The property has been neglected in recent months and is now full of
noxious weeds i.e. Bathurst Burr & Khaki weed (what controls are going
to be put in place to stop these weeds from transferring by wind or
water onto other land).
- Renew Estate staff stated on 7th May, that the panels could be up to
4 meters high!
- Any runoff from the project area can have a significant impact on
local farm land.

As my property is visually impacted by this development I am so
disappointed that the renew have advised me at their last meeting at
north Wagga hall that they will now only be filling in trees where
there are gaps in the boundaries of the project. At all other meetings
renew have indicated that the vegetation plan would be a major factor
in this development telling us that the boundaries would be increased
in vegetation. As well as this they also advised that properties that
would be visually impacted would be supported by renew with tree lines
to lower visual impact for neighbours. Our property is one that is
impacted visually. The angle in which photos have been taken is not a
true representation of the true elevation. This is very obvious from
the northern side of Shepherds Siding Rd. Please be true to your word
and make this development as aesthetically pleasing to the people who
live here.

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on this proposal.
I do not oppose solar projects, but there should be guidelines put in
place by State Planning for all solar projects specifically about:
. their location to existing dwellings,
. growing vegetation buffers around projects to manage visual impacts,
increased temperatures,water runoff and any noise impacts, and
. their overall size.
This specific project is huge and will have significant visual impact
on surrounding residents. It is on sloping land and will be seen from
a considerable distance.
This impact could be softened by having a vegetation buffer -
specifically 5 rows of native trees and shrubs planted surrounding the
perimeter of the project. It would also benefit from having vegetation
buffers within the project to lessen the impact of increased
temperatures, water run off, increased noise and the visual impact.
This may have a small impact on production but overall would be better
for the environment and the local community now and into the future.
Thank you
Marie Suthern
In answer to the box below about my view on the application, I object
to it not having a planned and funded vegetation buffer surrounding
the project.

VEGETATION PLAN: From the start Renew Estate indicated that they would
thicken the vegetation line surrounding the development so that the
visual impact was lessened from neighbouring property owners. At the
meeting 7.5.18 the vegetation plan and on speaking with your staff
they advised that the tree line surrounding the development would only
be filled in where there are gaps. As the land is sloping, not flat as
you are stating, why is there not an additional tree line proposed on
the sloping area north/ south. .Originally Renew Estate offered to
improve or install tree line on the neighbouring properties to lessen
the visual impact of the said 400,000 panels - this has not been
addressed at the meeting on the 7.5.18.

PANELS: The plan at the meeting 7.5.18 showed that 90% of the property
would be covered with panels. Prior to this they had stated that
35-40% of the property would be covered with panels. They then could
not advise me which style of panel would be used as this has not been
decided upon. On this information how can we truly know how these
panels will be situated on the land and at what height. All these
"undecided" factors will have visual implications on our properties.
This will undoubtedly decrease the value of our homes and properties.
We already look at Robe which has had no vegetation plan to protect
neighbours so we know how the Renew Estate plan will look if this is
not addressed.
ADDITIONAL:
There has been no commitment for any money to be put in to trust for
any remediation or removal of the site if the development fails.

We are writing to draw attention to the still unanswered points in regard
to the proposed solar farm installation on former Woolcombing land at
Bomen via Wagga wagga NSW.

1) What is the strategy for noxious weed control prior to, during and
post construction. It is currently a major problem on site.

2) As the solar panels park in the horizontal position at night and on
non sunny days, What measures will be in place to control run off of
rain water from such a concentrated surface area. The land is sloping
NOT flat (as continually insisted by Renew estate staff and
representatives)

3) The photos taken on behalf of Renew estate are selective and do not
show the immense total visual scar this project will produce on the
landscape.

4) To compensate for the sloping, NOT FLAT terrain Renew estate staff
admitted that some of the lower panels would have to be at least 4
metres high to gain efficiency. This will create a significant visual
impact on residents close to the proposed project.

5) A vegetation screening plan was initially stated as being
developed. At a later presentation the major screening was to the west
thus screening the project from Bomen road, However this provides no
screening for residents who have a direct line of sight from their
residence and will be effected by heat and light reflection from the
panels during the day.

6) There is intention to remove a significant number of mature trees
which are the habitat of native birds.

7) All photos of existing solar farms presented appear to be located
on flat land.

8) None of the Renew estate staff or representatives are prepared to
guarantee that there will be no reflection from the panels.

9) Non of the Renew estate staff or representatives are prepared to
discuss potential noise levels of the mechanicals of the panels and
related infrastructure.

We are extremely concerned both personally and as a community as to
the possible adverse effects this project will have on the area, the
environmental impacts and the adverse effects on property values.

I object to the current DA.
The lack of a vegetation plan which has been put forward to Renew
Estate for 6 months as a critical issue shows complete contempt to
adjoining landholders.
The visual impact & glare will have a extremely negative impact our
amenity and property value.
I ask the NSW State Planning put in place stringent controls in
regards to Solar Projects and their impact on adjoining landholders
and general community visual damage.
I am not opposed to Solar Projects however I do believe they should be
placed away from roads and out of sight of neighbours. These are
commercial projects that want an easy ride into sub-stations and the
power grid. These companies that are going to spend millions on land
and panels should be putting some of their capital into running their
feed in lines further. If they get further away from sub-stations the
land will get cheaper as sub-stations are generally are adjacent to
towns and higher value land.

While there is much enthusiasm for renewable energy, I ask that NSW
Planning develop clear & robust guidelines for Solar Projects that
take into consideration not only the benefits but also their
limitations and impact on neighbours and communities.

Solar farm is not needed in this farming area which is surrounded by
prime agricultural land
There is a lack of a vegetation screening plan after having said they
would do. Making it an eyesaw

The Renew Estate staff said they would not put more trees in as it is
not economically worthwhile - after having said they would this will
leave it expose and untidy a distraction
There has been no commitment to put money aside in Trust for the
removal/remediation of site - they said they would.
The land is sloping and undulating NOT FLAT as they are stating it is
Their photos from residences are inaccurate and do not show the
breadth of visual impact which will have a big negative impact on
these resisences
Houses and properties will have significant visual impact form the
development that they should not have to have they have chosen to live
in a rural area not an industrial one
The property has been neglected and weeds not controlled in recent
months and is now full of noxious weeds i.e. Bathurst Burr & Khaki
weed (what controls are going to be put in place to stop these weeds
from transferring by wind or water onto other land) these weeds are
very difficult to control even on farming properties they have
significant negative impacts on the value of the crops and livestock
that you produced. they can very quickly become a problem if not
regularly checked and monitored
The Renew Estate staff stated on 7th May, that the panels could be up
to 4 metres high! which are very invasive
I very much object to this proposal and that this area is not a
suitable spot

Topography: Renew stated that the land is flat when it is not, therefore
having greater visual impact on houses and properties.
Photos from these properties are inaccurate and do not show the exact
impact on how the farm will impact on them.
How will Renew control the weeds and stop them from transferring to
neighboring properties.
The design of the panels are yet to be specified.
A trust fund is yet to be established for remediation.
A vegetation plan,that is , a satisfactory one, has yet to be
established.

We own property less than 2km from the proposed site. The proposed site
covers a massive area in excess of 600 acres. This is planned to be
located on sloping ground on the other side of the Eunony Valley
directly in sight from most areas of our property.

We are particularly disappointed that whilst we have had a number of
consultative meetings with the proponents and their representatives,
and have made several suggestions as to mitigating visual and other
impacts, these have been ignored.

This is a massive development and the scale is difficult to imagine. I
have travelled through Europe in recent times and seen many solar
"farms" but none that come even close to this scale. Many are 25, 50
or even just over 100 acres, and all on flat land that can be
effectively screened.

But 625 acres is huge. Especially on sloping ground in a busy farming
and lifestyle property area. The visual impact will be enormous. The
proponents have taken photos from various properties (including ours)
but have only included those photos showing the least impact in their
submission. These are also the locations that can benefit from the
perimeter screening that has been proposed. The photos do not show the
enormity of the visual impact.

Perimeter vegetation does not provide effective (or any) screening to
those properties on the eastern side of the valley as the perimeter is
some 70 metres below us. The highest point in the project is still
more than 20 metres below us. Accordingly no amount of perimeter
vegetation will assist those landholders on the eastern side of the
valley.

We have suggested a grid pattern vegetation plan throughout this
massive project, however whilst the proponents have all nodded and
made the right noises they have put none of this in their proposal.
They do not appear to have totally committed to the perimeter
vegetation. There is no plan, no discussion as to what type of trees,
how many rows, when the planting will commence, etc.

We operate a mid scale farming and grazing operation in the Eunony
Valley and have a strong connection to the land and its people. This
development is causing significant concern to many landholders and
residents.
Whilst it is true that this proposal is planned on industrial land, at
this stage there are only a couple of developments on the Eastern side
of the industrial area facing the Eunony Valley. It will be many, many
years (likely decades) before this 625 acre area would be developed
naturally. Particularly as the local council has committed to
developing the western side of the industrial area first. (over the
ridge from our valley)

I understand the financial benefit to the proponents in having this
development close to the electricity substation, however the impact on
so many residences and landholders should not be ignored. This
development is enormous and I believe that if this does go ahead that
the community will be shocked with the scale and the imposing nature
of what will surely be a massive eyesore.

We vehemently object to this proposal.

Submission attached

Please refer to attached letter of support

Teys submission is attached in PDF format.

uploaded

Please see attached

Please see attached

Please see attached