Birriwa Solar Farm

See attached submission.

The proposed proposal of 500 workers base up to 1000 workers would impact strong to the community.
It would turn the scenic scope into a satellite city.
The night glow needs to be looked into as an impact.
Traffic
Also the water need to accommodate such a large number of people, where is this coming from.
We are going into a dry period and water is a very important facet to all agricultural business especially if ground water is sourced. Do you have any evidence that it will not affect current working agricultural business.
I am strongly objecting to this proposal.

There are many reasons for my objecting to this project:
Roads - the roads surrounding the area are not fit for large vehicles and would need significant upgrades. Despite it technically being zoned as a dual direction 100km road, the fact is it contains dirt roads which struggle to support 2 utes passing each other. You need to pull off the road if a truck or a school bus is coming in the opposite direction. How will this be made safe in the time frame given, and where is the funding for this. We also use these roads to move stock regularly between farms that have paddocks on both sides of the road, with the amount of vehicles needed to use these roads for this project and others, how do you expect us to run our businesses as we do.
Placing a 500-1000 person camp in the project - this would be near another proposed 1200 camp (and with so many other projects in the pipeline there will be more to consider). The cumulative effect of this on the surrounding properties is not acceptable, you would be placing camps bigger than the population of Dunedoo in the middle of isolated farm land, those of us who live near to these camps do not feel safe with all these people on our doorsteps. These camps need to be on highway frontage to offer at least some sort of indirect surveillance of the camps. I also feel that the safety of our homes and farms are at risk with this many people. What is the plan for water and sewerage, how is it viable to truck water and waste constantly.
I strongly oppose this project for the above reasons, as well as other less visible ones - the mental health impact you are causing in our local community, the landholders who have held farms for generations who will now need to look at an industrial landscape, and possibly leave because of this, the lack of respect for neighbouring farms. These projects need to be closer to the larger centres where the demand is higher and the need for 100's of kilometres of overhead transmission lines would be decreased.

* 1.7km of Merotherie Road (from Golden Highway to Leo Nott Bridge) is a flood plain. It is marked on maps but not recognised by local councils so Planning NSW must take the flood plain into account. Floodwater from the Talbragar RIver - the floodwater currently comes up, crosses the flood plain and subsides without serious and long lasting disruption to agricultural activity. If there is human interaction ( engineering solutions) within the flood plain this will cause erosion, cause flooding upstream, totally change the flows downstream and significantly change the whole natural watercourse. That is what will happen with human engineering solutions "making the Merotherie Road flood proof". Nature is bigger than us all!
* The Merotherie Road is a LLS stock route (for which I have a permit) for me to move my stock along the Merotherie Road to the Golden Highway and cross over to the remainder of my holding. If there is a huge increase in traffic to access the Birriwa Solar Farm that will significantly decrease the ability to operate my business and other landholders that use this route.
* Secondary roads being upgraded to create access for wind and solar developments will also impact the whole catchment's water courses.
* Where can I view the environmental study that changed the development footprint in the south-eastern corner of the site?
* Creating a temporary 500 person accommodation facility (with a clause to increase to 1000 people). How will these people be fed? Where will the water come from to cater for that many people? Where will the human waste go?

Mining companies in NSW are required to pay a rehabilitation bond prior to the issue of a mining licence. This is to ensure that there are funds available for rehabilitation of the mine site at end of life if the mining company goes into liquidation. The Applicant could be liquidated prior to the end of life of for the Birriwa Solar project. As a condition of approval of this application, the Applicant should be required to pay a Rehabilitation Bond. The amount of the Bond should be determined by an independent registered quantity surveyor or such other competent valuer. This is to ensure that funds are available for the decommissioning of the solar infrastructure which is then disposed of in accordance with the requirements of the NSW Environmental Protection Agency. Then the land is to be fully restored to its pre-existing capability.

The guidelines for renewable energy projects state that their cumulative impact must be minimised. Not only will the Birriwa Solar Farm add to the cumulative environmental and visual impact of other projects in the area, an additional work camp will stress the regions ability to service these workers in terms of health, sanitation and tranaport.

The core motivation for adopting wind and solar generation systems is to reduce human emissions of Carbon Dioxide because it is asserted Carbon Dioxide is a "Green House Gas" and, as such, an increased concentration of this gas in the earth's atmosphere will result in the atmosphere becoming so hot as to destroy life on earth. As one who has studied Thermodynamics to 4th year university level with honours, the focus of my study being hot gas and steam, I know with certainty that there is no way, within the laws of Physics and Thermodynamics, that Carbon Dioxide has any appreciable effect in terms of it warming the earth's atmosphere. To this end, I attach a paper which has been reviewed by Professor Will Happer, a world renowned expert in atmospheric physics, that provides raw data from temperature measuring stations belonging to climatology networks around the world. All of these graphs show the same downward trend, that is, the earth's atmospheric temperature is cooling at a time when the concentration of Carbon Dioxide in the earth's atmosphere is rising. Further reinforcing this data is the fact that proxy data from two ice cores providing temperatures and carbon dioxide concentrations over a period of approximately 10,000 years show that as Carbon Dioxide concentration has risen, temperatures have fallen. The only conclusion one can draw from this data is that Carbon Dioxide has no appreciable effect in terms of it warming the earth's atmosphere and that Anthropogenic Global Warming is one huge, monstrous fraud.

The adoption of Wind and Solar power leads to much higher energy prices and, as inexpensive reliable energy is the foundation-stone of any modern society, the adoption of these systems of power generation is ruining all Western economies that have adopted these systems of energy generation.

I also enclose another paper which is a rough scoping study of a proposed 8GW pumped hydro electricity generation system, powered by wind and solar, proposed by the NSW Government. This study shows that the cost of electricity generated by these means is considerably more expensive than electricity produced by coal. The study also shows that it is not practical to store sufficient energy to guarantee reliable supply.
All of these projects are a huge waste of taxpayer's money at a time when this country is close to one trillion dollars in debt. The only beneficiary of this scheme is the Chinese Communist Party. It is noteworthy that electricity is 5 times cheaper in China than in Australia. The Communists have arranged treaties such that they do not have to reduce China' emissions until 2050. With this situation there is no possible way Australian manufacturing can compete with the Chinese.
In summary:
1. The basis for adopting generation systems based on wind and solar is invalid. Human emissions, if that are at all significant, are benefiting this planet in terms of increasing plant growth. These emissions are definitely not appreciably warming the atmosphere.
2. Wind and solar generation systems are many times more expensive than is coal or, for that matter, nuclear and cannot provide anything like the necessary reliability of supply. This necessitates maintaining and operating two systems of electricity generation.
3. Not dealt with above but, as a closing comment, wind and solar systems have a very limited life and disposal will be expensive and fraught with the possibility of significant damage to the environment. As it is, the installation of these systems into wilderness areas and on prime agricultural land is doing great harm to the environment and this country's food production capability.

This folly on the part of State and Federal Governments puts at risk the prosperity and the security of Australia. IT MUST STOP!

The impacts to the community are enormous
With the proposed 500 workers camp to extend to 1000 plus the Energy Co workers camp to 1200.
Where is the Water going to come from for the camps and the power
They have not worked out yet the waste and the sewerage?
if they have to truck the water is they are talking 6 heavy vehicles a day.
This initial 500 workers camp is equivalent to a town so will need to establish medical police RFS fire and rescue etc
There is no mention as to how workers will get to and from these camps.
the road net work is not suitable for the added vehicles that will be required for these workers camps let along the project.
locals were not asked to the suitability of the area for the project
there is no accumlative impact for this project.

I object very strongly to the Birriwa Solar Farm Amendment.
At present our emergency services have enough trouble catering to the local communities. Everyone talks about throwing money at this problem but with the lack of available personnel to fill vacancies, money is not the solution. Adding an extra 500-1000 people (just the ACEN workers camp, not mentioning other CWO REZ project workforce) to the population will only exacerbate the stress felt by the current personnel in these positions.
In the current proposal, under bushfire assessment, it is stated that there is to be a 50,000L tank with storz fitting and fire hydrants. There is no mention of fire fighting vehicles; is it expected that local Fire & Rescue and Rural Fire Brigades will attend any fire at the project site? Our local Fire & Rescue is manned by local business owners and employees who, at present, have enough call outs. The RFS is a volunteer organisation who take time away from their businesses to help the local community. Does ACEN not feel that as your project will contain a similar amount of people to the local community that there should be adequate equipment on hand to protect your project from fire?
With the increased traffic, how does ACEN propose to maintain the safety of the local road users?
It is proposed that water will come from local community sources, who are already facing water restrictions. The last dry period went for three years, which meant there were very strict water restrictions. There is not the available water on hand to waste on your unnecessary project. Trucking water from Windemere Dam will be detrimental to the local road network, and is not very "green"!
There are families living in close proximity of your proposed housing development, often mothers and children on their own, are your employees (predominately males) going to have a police check done?
The cumulative effects of all the projects within the CWO REZ are too much for this area to survive.

I object to the Birriwa Solar farm for the following reasons.
The solar farm will be built on prime agricultural farm land, this whole area is being inundated with Wind farms, Solar farms and High voltage power lines. Why not build this infrastructure on land that is less valuable to the much needed agriculture industry.
There is an increased risk of fire danger associated with solar farms, we will be living in and area with a much higher fire risk.
Property values in the area will be greatly reduced, especially those properties alongside the solar farm. No one wants to live next to a solar farm.
There is no plan in place for what will be done with all of the solar panels and batteries when they reach their use by date and are no longer viable. Land fill ? These batteries and solar panels do not break down , they are toxic and dangerous to the environment.
The Solar farms are visually offensive and unattractive in the landscape.
I object to the Birriwa solar farm.

Below are my reasons for objecting to the Birriwa Solar Farm Amendment:
I strongly disagree that this amendment will NOT have a significant impact on the 11 residences within 4km of the site. How can having a minimum extra 500 people living within 4km of your house not have an impact on you? The neighbours of this camp are living in a rural area and are now expected to live with a town of at least 500 strangers in close proximity to them and all the impacts that go with that. For example, crime and feeling safe in your own home, especially if young mothers with small children are home alone.
At the present time we already have trouble getting a doctors appointment or see a doctor in an emergency in a timely manner, how will having an extra 500 or so people living at Birriwa (not to mention the other camps in the area) affect how those that live in the district get medical services?
Another concern I have is where the water is coming from for the camp. At the moment it is very dry around the district and is predicted to stay that way for the foreseeable future, several Warrumbungle Shire towns are already on water restrictions. Where will the water for the houses daily use come from and where will the general waste and sewerage be dumped or taken to?

I strongly object to this proposed development. My grounds for objection are as follows:
1. Significantly adverse visual and amenity impacts to nearby, tightly held and successful farming operations.
2. Significant impact on agricultural land that is needed for the diverse Mid Western Region.
3. Significantly adverse land use conflict as a result of construction and operation.
4. Significantly adverse socio-economic impacts from an influx of workers already seen by the 2 approved developments nearby. Various camps now proposed at random and remote locations is not the answer to this crisis and the increase of rural crime and vandalism to public and private property is the end result - I cannot see any crime prevention strategies that are to be rolled out by this developer.
5. Significant cumulative impacts to Dunnedoo, Coolah, Gulgong and Mudgee due to the lack of strategic planning undertaken by the NSW government prior to gazettal of the REZ.
6. The significantly adverse traffic impacts on local and regional roads during construction. The traffic impact assessment is insufficient and does not accurately consider all vehicle movements required by the project, including the extensive amount of water trucks that will be required during both construction and operation which has been very much underestimated.
7. The significant bushfire and personal farm/human risks that the proposed development will generated, this has already been observed by the nearby Beryl Solar Farm. The local area has been impacted by bushfires previously and historically moves from the west to the east, posing a huge risk to farming properties and the historic town of Gulgong. The resources that such events takes up from the community is huge, along with the many volunteers to battle such fires. Will the developer employ their own fire fighters to man this site into the future?
8. The site is not suitable for the proposed development. It is grossly oversized and will have negative impacts on all surrounding land holders.

I have a huge problem with the introduction of this inquiry with the wording of the terms of reference. The term presupposes that the transition to a green energy superpower is a positive for Australia. The term does not even consider or allow that the transition may have some negative impacts,
Whilst I agree that transiting to alternative energy sources is extremely desirable, the current methodology to achieve this goal is grossly misguided, causing more long term harm than benefit. Too many negative consequences of the current path with the collateral damage to our environment are produced.
I have been involved with stand alone solar since 1985 and have no problem with this concept, even roof top solar but do not support large alternative energy projects for many reasons.
This “Green Energy Transition” is a political maneuver to satisfy the UN international alternative energy fiasco of demanding an alternative energy creation of 80% but destroying almost .5 % of the 4.76% of Australia’s very limited food producing land and other rural food producing entities in the process.
For Australia’s approximate one percent of CO² contribution to the world’s total CO², we waste, now trillions, of dollars to transit to a short term energy source that is vulnerable to weather, to an attack by a foreign power, poisoning food producing land with heavy metals, virtually rendering the land useless for future safe food production, even if it is possible to return the land to food production. These farms also have the necessity of creating huge transmission lines crisscrossing the rural landscape that create dangers to food production and are all in all, an impractical solution. Solar and to a lesser degree, wind farms creating micro climates, negatively affecting crop and animal production and ultimately destroying the economies of rural communities.
CO² is not a poison; it is a necessity for plant growth, i.e FOOD.

I am writing to object to the application to construct a solar farm with all related infrastructure and technology in Birriwa, NSW.
The reasons for my objection are as follows:
- This will absolutely change the landscape from that of rural to industrial - the infrastructure from solar and associated renewable technology will cause visual pollution in the rural countryside. Birriwa has a beautiful scene when we drive through and the visual consequences will be that of a disaster if this construction goes ahead.
- These developments will divide and destroy the close-knit community surrounding Birriwa.
- There will be significant environmental and agricultural destruction, and this land will never be repairable.
- Due to the above destruction, wildlife, native wildlife and livestock will die and suffer as a result.
- The solar infrastructure brings much danger regarding fire. When it catches fire, not only will there be major health emergency concerns due to toxicity, there will be significant damage to the visual landscapes, to the agricultural environment, to the nearby livestock, and to the local and broader district residents.
- What measures do developers have in place to ensure the safety of residents when there is a fire? Will they have evacuation plans to ensure their survival?
- The chemicals released from this infrastructure each day will be absorbed into the agricultural soil. This will have a negative impact on any nearby farming operations.
- Solar power is not reliable. The risk of destruction on the agricultural landscape is not worth the unreliability of this energy.
- Why is the NSW government / Australian government not looking for more reliable sources of energy?
- Residents and the broader community will lose their 'normal' way of life due to these significant changes. This will have significant mental health implications for the community as a result.
- Neighbouring properties should not have to look out their windows and see a sea of black panels with accompanying infrastructure, on what was previously pristine agricultural land.
- The land values of hosting and neighbouring properties will be significantly devalued. This property devaluation will also have a domino effect on the broader community as nobody will want to move there or live near them. This will also cause a significant financial loss to the local economy.
- Residents will move away from the community and this will have a negative impact on local economy and local schools (from preschool to high school).
- Land and local community will be negatively impacted by heavy traffic.
- The construction of this project, along with the ongoing maintenance brings biosecurity threats.

Birriwa, and surrounding areas, are areas of high productive agricultural output that feeds and clothes the nation. Where is the logic of destroying part of the nation's very productive food bowl? Was a game of playing 'pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey' played to choose this area? Does money and egos of a few overrule common sense? Erasing prime agricultural land that has been successfully farmed for generations to cover it with solar panels lacks good long-term management strategies and outcomes. Farmers are multi-skilled and very resourceful. We successfully provide food for the nation and now we have to provide the power for others far removed from the Birriwa area too. There are plenty of non-productive areas closer to the east coast of Australia without having to sacrifice the farmer's likelihood e.g., disused coal mining areas or their surrounds...these areas have sunlight too. Large industrial complexes could easily provide plenty of solar energy which would be closer to the areas consuming it. Most business model are more cost effective if the sections and components of the project are close together. You don't build a school or hospital away from where the people are to use it... so why build these solar installations a long distance away from the consumers of the solar generated electricity? 'The Great Dividing Range' has literally been demonstrated by the lack of consideration and knowledge of rural areas west of the mountains. When farmers leave this area due to these developments Australia losses a lot of skills and knowledge base that has supported and fed Australia. Many in rural areas are feeling very dejected and unseen by those who make decisions who may have never lived or experienced a wonderful community orientated rural lifestyle. Our health matters too. Solar may be renewable, but the current panels are not recyclable nor are they green- flora is being erased for these industrial complexes. Are they Australian owned and made? It feels like we are being treated like second class citizens. Most Australians are getting fed up with the knee jerk reactions from all sides of the political systems and government departments, plus the social media getting pampered to with often unfounded and unsupported social and economic issues e.g., these renewable energy hubs and solar industrial installations. It is an insult and a show of ignorance to call them a farm. Of great concern are the issues related to- safety, security, transport systems, degrading of roads, medical and social issues due to the massive increase in the temporary labour force to set these solar installations up. The loss of local families due to their farms either being bought, resumed, segmented off or leaving due to the changes in their environment is one of the greatest tragedies. In time this will result in the decaying of small rural communities and the loss of healthy produce for all Australians to consume. Please reconsider the location of the solar installations to be closer to the eastern seaboard where most of the population live and who do not rely on the land for their income and livelihood like we do around the Birriwa area. Thank you.

Whilst I welcome the fact that a special area will be acquired for employee housing, I still object to this project for the reasons set out in my previous objection. There is no mechanism to recycle solar panels and valuable farm land is being used for this project. There is simply not enough agricultural land in reliable rainfall areas to sustain the world's population into the future.

Changing the size of the transmission lines
Wanting to provide temporary accommodation for up to 500 people to construct the solar project, with an option to increase to 1000 people
Increasing the size of the solar project by another 5ha in the south eastern side. Where can I view the the ecological study to say it’s ok to go there?
Using prime agricultural land and reducing the capacity to feed Australia

I object to the Birriwa Solar Project amendment because it is not possible to have this amount of workers and traffic in this locality as there is very little undergound water and no sewerage facilities. The local emergency services and medical facilities cannot handle the population now never lone 500 or more workers. All this power needs to be generated where it is needed negating the need for thousands of kilometres of massive transmission infrastructure.

I'm an uneducated 70 year old farmer and I can see this project is impossible. I object to this amendment of the Birriwa Solar Factory. The entry road will not be able to carry the traffic volume of the workers to the camp site let alone the day to day traffic flow. To cater for that there would have to be a lot of trees removed which is not environmentally friendly and as farmers we would not be allowed to remove that volume of trees.
Water for the camp is stated to be 125,000 litres per day. This would be equivalent to 29 truck loads per week from Windermere Dam which is at least 100 kilometres away and most likely will not be full when required. Also the same amount of sewerage will have to be disposed of. The underground water supply in that area is very limited.
This is a high fire prone area and there was a life lost in that locally in the December 1979 fire that started west of Dunedoo and finished at Ulan.