Culcairn Solar Farm

I strongly oppose the Culcairn Solar Farm Development.
My greatest concern is the loss of highly productive agricultural land. This reliable farmland, while still being drought affected, has been able to continue to produce crops and pastures unlike the majority of NSW. In a normal rainfall year only a small percentage of NSW is productive agricultural land, therefore it is imperative to retain as much of this land for food and fodder production as possible. Solar farming should be done only on marginal country as it is an industrial use of land, not agricultural.
Noise, dust, visual impact and increased traffic will impact greatly on neighbours especially during the building phase of the solar farm. The visual impact will be ongoing. The proposed vegetation screen is inadequate and would take many years to partially shield the eyesore.
Another concern is increased fire risk due to a build of up weeds around the panels and accessibility to the site and toxic fumes if there was a fire. What will this do to the availability and cost of neighbouring farm insurance?
Because this agricultural land will be changed to industrial land, what impact will this have on nearby neighbouring land values? Other ongoing concerns are radiant heat effects, lack of weed and pest control, unknown health issues caused by large scale solar and the eventual clean up of the site. The physical, mental and financial wellbeing of neighbours is at risk.
Hopefully commonsense will prevail and solar farms will be located on appropriate marginal land to allow Australian agriculture to continue to support our country.

Please find submission attached.

I support this project. This is an aging community and this project will bring life back to the community and I believe that the community fund will have many blessing to the people of this region that may never be available again for this community. I also believe that renewable energy is the way of the future and I'm well over 70! I believe this project will also assist the government meet their energy targets.

I strongly object to this proposal as it should not be put on such productive agricultural land and will be detrimental to neighbouring farms. This area has been able to remain productive when many other areas have not. It would be a criminal act to limit the true productive capacity of this land by covering such a large area with panels. There is also the increased fire risk due to a tumble weed problem that would definitely become apparent in the summer with high temperatures which would be even higher with the panels. With the recent bushfires there is an increased fear in the local community that this project will definitely put us at increased risk of being burnt out. At one of the meetings the transgrid representative indicated the lines were nearly at full capacity. It would therefore be more sensible to invest in new lines out to less populated less productive land out in western new south wales. I am in favour of renewable energy but not such a large industrial solar on such productive land.

Submission attached.

My concerns for the proposed solar plant SSD10288 Culcairn Solar Farm is as follows

• Dust
• Glare
• Solar company foreign owned
• Loss of prime agricultural land
• Eye sore
• Devaluation of land
• No proof the land will be returned back to a usable state
• Destruction of large numbers for trees
• Noise
• Loss for flora and fauna
• Dividing the district
• Economic affects
• Bushfire risks
• Insurance issues
• Traffic management
• Mental health of all involved
• Heat island effect
• No benefit to any of the people living out here, except those whose properties it is going on and the foreign owned solar company

I am one of the owners willing to lease my land to Neoen for the proposed Culcairn Solar Farm. My land comprises most of the site, being around 800ha. (Of which I will speak of!)

I was also approached by other companies seeking this site as an optimal site for a solar farm!

My family, which is in its fifth generation of farming this land knows this land intimately having farmed it for over 100 years!

I believe my land to be an excellent site for solar harvesting! Twelve TransGrid electricity towers run through the middle of my farm! The land is flat! The land does not have many trees!

I know this land is not “Prime Agricultural Land” (As my neighbour’s have been rallying other farmers to say it is!!)

My land is low lying, which is prone to get too wet in the winter and frost prone in the spring. (This has made sowing winter cereal crops a risky venture, being better suited for running stock!) The land predominantly has heavy clay acidic soils, requiring lime and gypsum for farming!
This region generally has good winter rainfall, and a dry hot summer (Not suited for summer cropping!)

I have 100ha made into raised beds and extensive drains over much of the property which points to its low lying/flat nature!

Neoen have worked very hard to communicate to neighbours and the community about the project!
This hasn’t stopped an “anti-solar group” to campaign against the project and spread a lot of mis truth, negativity, fear & unrealistic economic figures in their opposition to the solar project!

Neoen, through this project share great wealth back to the community!

I believe this project will be significant not only to the local community but to the state and wider Australia. Clean energy is essential for the future of Australia’s energy security and as I have written above I believe the proposed Culcairn Solar Farm is an optimal place to implement this!

I am writing to state my opposition to the proposed solar industrial development at Culcairn (SSD 10288).
The land to be used for this project is prime agricultural land. Not only has this area proven to be so productive whilst the vast remainder of the state has endured heart breaking drought conditions and more recently we have seen the destruction of so much of our countryside with the devastating bushfires, but hay and fodder sourced directly from our local farms have aided in these areas of need. If our productive countryside is taken away on such a massive scale, as this proposal indicates, who feeds our country and provides for livestock?
Our local shire council and planning departments have been meticulous in recent years in preserving the productivity of our rural properties in the Culcairn area by restricting the development of new dwellings and land subdivisions on rural zoned land to promote the use of this land for solely an agricultural purpose. I encourage and urge the continued use of the farmland in our local area for this purpose, rather than covering such a large proportion of almost 3500 acres with solar panels.
I rather encourage the consideration of other areas for such a development in more isolated regions with a less productive agricultural land and with designated renewable energy zones, not that is just opportunistic around existing gridlines.
Our local area has such a safe, productive and profitable agricultural production which has massive benefits and flow-on effects, not only in our local communities, but which has been proven in recent years throughout the state in also providing for those areas enduring drought and recent devastating bushfires, needing hay and fodder for dying livestock.
Another concern that I have with the proposed development is the thought process of the large multinational company involved, that during construction our community and local businesses would be bolstered by the employment of workers and the attraction of their families to our area, set to flow on to our schools and community groups as well. There have been other building projects in our community, and unfortunately, this doesn’t always result in this outcome, due to the close proximity of our large regional cities of Albury/Wodonga/Wagga, and these people often make their homes in these regional centres, not our local town, and just travel to Culcairn daily for work. With a limited availability of housing options here in Culcairn for this purpose, I honestly don’t believe our local economy will be boosted at all with this development, rather it would see the decimation of not only farmland, but it would see less people living in our community with the enjoyment of what has been such a beautiful surrounding country landscape, therefore actually having a dire outlook for businesses and local groups.
Also concerning is the number of farming families who are so passionate about living and preserving such beautiful farmland through their productive farming practices, and who are also supportive of local business, schools and community organisations and have been for several years, who will be severely impacted. The stress this proposal is causing them and the massive negative impacts it will have not only during construction, but with the scale of such an industrial development next to their farming operations long-term, it could actually see these families who have lived here for several generations and are hopeful to continue for future generations, leave our area. This is absolutely heart breaking to even contemplate.
It also concerns me that local Rural Fire Service volunteers have indicated their concerns with entering the site in the event of a fire starting either on the site or neighbouring properties, due to the possibility of entrapment, electrocution and potential exposure to toxic chemicals, and would basically refuse to enter. I shudder to think of those ramifications in extreme fire conditions.
Our young farming family love living in this beautiful country community with such expansive rural views and cannot fathom the impact such a massive industrial development would have on our amazing natural countryside and the wildlife amongst the nearby Billabong Creek and Gum swamps.
It is so disappointing that this solar development is being considered in our local area and I urge the consideration of such a project in another region that has land for use that has proven to be less productive agriculturally. The farmland to be used for this project has not only proven so important on a local level, but with a hay and fodder production that has provided such positive relief also to the farming communities devastated by ongoing drought and the recent bushfires. It would be devastating to create such a negative impact on our local agricultural production, when our farming businesses have actually continued to produce grain and fodder, even in what has been a challenging climate in recent times.

I object to the Culcairn solar farm for various reasons. I believe that the land at Culcairn is far to valuable as agricultural land to put solar on. The proposed area of some 1317 Ha is a very large area which has produced large amounts of hay and grain in recent times which has been invaluable in supplying drought and bush fire affected areas of the state. This small part of the state has been proven to be reliable during one of the worst droughts on record and should be protected and valued as important agricultural land.
I'm very concerned about weed control within the proposed site especially as this particular farm has a history of silver leaf nightshade. This is a particularly difficult weed to eradicate and has been a constant battle as a neighbour to keep out of my property. I'm very concerned that if the development goes ahead that this weed will not be managed properly and will become a major issue for neighbours. The solar farm developers claim that they will manage weeds by running sheep under the panels and claim that it will still be productive agriculturally. They have quoted a trial which they ran for 6 weeks saying the this trial proves sheep grazing is successful . However as a forth generation farmer I dispute this claim as I do not believe a 6 week trial can compare to 30 years of grazing. I question the management ability to maintain a productive pasture over a prolonged 30 year period of the proposed development. I believe it will not be possible to fertilize or spray effectively which will eventually lead to the development to be overrun with weeds. This will not only become unproductive for sheep grazing , but will also create a seed bank of weeds posing a problem for neighbouring properties.
Any summer rains will lead to a rapid build up of a weed called Hairy Panic. This weed is toxic to sheep once it reaches maturity, so cannot be managed with grazing. This weed, once seeded, rolls across the paddocks and will build up around the panels and fences creating a fire risk within the development and subsequently for neighbours and indeed the district. Fire risk is a major concern as all the local brigades have indicated they are unwilling to enter the site due to risks or entrapment and the risk of toxic gasses.
I am highly concerned about the level of dust which will be generated during the construction phase of the development and the effect it will have on the surrounding properties. The enormous amount of traffic which will be needed during construction will coat surrounding properties in dust,having a huge impact on growth of plants and therefore productivity. The high level of traffic will also be dangerous on small country roads which are used by school buses and local farmers to access properties with machinery.
As a neighbour to the Culcairn solar farm I'm very concerned about the heat bank effect which will effect our property and subsequent production risk it will impose on our enterprise . 1317 hectares of land with glass panels on it must generate an enormous amount of heat which will blow onto our property. Upon researching the heat bank effect, the only studies I can find have been conducted on a 2 hectare site. A far different scenario to 1317 hectares. There should be far more research into this and the effect it has on surrounding land before approval is given effecting prime agricultural enterprises.
The Greater Hume shire has 4 proposed solar development applications at the moment totaling 2630 hectares of prime agricultural land of which the Culcairn solar farm is the biggest. NSW has limited high quality, highly productive and relatively safe higher rainfall farming land. NSW however, has an abundance of highly suitable land not capable of producing valuable agricultural commodities. I firmly believe there are much more suitable areas to establish solar developments, it just takes government regulators with the foresight to build infrastructure to utilize more suitable land.

I am aware how valuable the land is in the precinct of where the Culcairn Solar Farm is as agricultural land. For many families living in and around the area of where the Solar Farm is hoping to be built have had many generations of living and owning the land where their farms are situated. I believe the land will never be returned to the condition it is in as of the date I write this submission. There will be great weed invasion (no matter what the project says at this stage) as it will not be looked after in the same manner as it has been when it was used Agriculturally.

I have witnessed the Forrestry invasion of land from when the Forrestry companies purchased and "used" the land for the growing of trees. Promises made in the preliminary discussions gave way to the dollar value of using the land for the purpose other than farming.

I have also witnessed the destruction of neighbours supporting each other in their common activities. Once the trees went in, there were the people who got paid well and those living in close proximity being shadowed and reclassed as the not so well off. The look after each other attitude was ruined when it became the lucky well off people (those who were paid well) and those who carried on as before but without the extra income. The neighbourhood changed and some even likened it to "the heart of faming and supporting each other, died.

In the historical past natural changing of neighbourhoods when a farm sold to neighbours or to new-comers, the changes were slowly developed and accepted. This project is not encouraging neighbourhoods to develop to change. There will be a lot of activity over such a large area, and the response to change will happen quickly and not be comfortable to all people in the area the Culcairn Solar Farm is to be built.
A Solar Farm in the middle of Farming Land will have a devastating effect on the people in the area. Let the Solar Farms be built in less productive areas where the sun shines brightly such as it does in inland Australia and leave the good agricultural land to be used how it has been for centuries and leave communities to be communities.

Site selection is very poor, this is highly productive agricultural land in a prime area and it will diminish the production that is currently taking place.
The increased water shed of the panels may cause flooding issues to neighboring properties and water ways.
The installation will create its own micro climate with a temperature increase to its surrounds.
Many large paddock trees will be cleared for the project which is very disappointing and will also cause lose of habitat for wildlife.
The installation will be very confronting and will have a very poor impact on the surrounding landscape, land values will be affected because of this.
The installation will be a haven for weeds to grow in and around panel, weeds such as hairy panic will thrive in this environment and will become a significant fire risk to surrounding areas.
The project might bring short term employment buy will hurt local employment in the long in the agricultural sector.
Neighboring land values will be decreased, this will affect anyone who operates on equity to borrow against their land.
Local roads that are required for construction will have a influx of trucks and other vehicles which will deteriorate our poor roads quicker than they need to be.
Overall I am very disappointed to see such a large solar plant installation proposed in the Greater Hume Shire as it is one of the most reliable and productive ares in the country as far as agriculture goes. I feel such a project would be much more suited in a dryer more arid area where it would get more sunlight, not cause a big visual impact due to it being more isolated, would most possibly require less land clearing and preparation and actually be some benefit to the local community.
I am not against renewable energy but I think there are a lot better places for large scale solar than the Greater Hume Shire.

I support the Culcairn Solar Farm because it will contribute to reducing carbon emissions to enable Australia to be carbon neutral by 2050, it provide local employment and investment, will not materially reduce agricultural production and ia designed to have minimal impact on neighbours.

The idea of a solar project on highly fertile/prime agricultural farming land is appalling. The scale of the proposed project in this area is absurd. This area is producing crops, hay, cattle and sheep for not only local consumers but our whole country and also overseas. We have and still are in one of the biggest droughts this country has ever seen and the idea of this farming land being destroyed when there is more appropriate land available blows my mind. If this project goes ahead where do you expect your next meal to come from? It is far too close to neighbouring properties and houses. It will drive people away from their land that has been in their families for 4+ generations and it will devalue the price of land in the area dramatically. There is also no evidence that it will not damage our crops and livestock. The proposal indicates it will boost the local economy, the skills and employment will highly unlikely support our community. Taking farming land away from our community will cripple local businesses that our farmers continue to support annually. Please consider the long term effects of this proposal, it will destroy the farming land and the community, there needs to be money put into infrastructure to build and upgrade the lines between NSW and SA where the power will eventually be put, please put the money into that now rather than destroying this part of the country for a short term/band-aid fix.

This is an awesome opportunity for the community to lead and potentially develop New technology. This has a flow on effect for the potential to partner with education facilities in the area. For schools, TAFE and universities. So good to see an opportunity like this arise in such a strategic area just outside of Albury/Wodonga

I support renewable energy now and for future generations.

As a Queensland resident , one of the largest coal producing states, I drastically see the need for consumers around the country to switch to renewable sources of energy to help shift our own neighbouring economy away from coal and towards more sustainable options.

I support all efforts of local residents boosting the renewable energy capacity of our grid and reducing our national carbon footprint.

I support the development of alternatate industry within the Culcairn/Walla area, and believe this project is complementary to both agricultural activities on and surrounding the area as well as the surrounding communities.

There has been a strong and decietful anti campaign spreading rumours and straight out lies regarding continuation of agriculture on and surrounding the land in question, environmental impact, bush fire risk, none of whom seem to have issues with the same area operating a open cut quarry.

I would be proud to have large scale renewable energy in my area. I support the commitment of the project to the local wild life habitats with additional tree corridors being planted on the site and I absolutely 100% support the jobs the project will bring to the town.

I would like to support this project. After visiting one of Neoen's solar plants last year, I am very impressed on how they look after the land and infrastucture on the property. I also liked the idea that you could still graze sheep under the panels. It gave the sheep shelter from the hot sun. There was green grass growing under the panels as well for the sheep to eat. What I also liked was, when they have finished with the project, they take most of the infrastructure with them. Some companies do not do this, they tend to cut the panels off at ground level and leave all the underground infrastructure behind, which leaves a huge expensive mess for the farmers to clean up. I hope that this project can go ahead.