Maison Dieu Solar Farm

I am writing to object to the Terrain Solar and Ratch Australia Corporation large scale solar factory project at Maison Dieu, near Singleton NSW.

My objection to the project is based on key impacts to the local community, including the psychosocial damage and human environmental factors this project will have on the local residents and Singleton community.

The effects of psychosocial risk factors on population health and health inequalities have featured prominently in epidemiological research literature as well as public health policy strategies recently. Psychosocial well-being is a superordinate construct that includes emotional or psychological well-being, as well as social and collective well-being. The term “quality of life” is similar to psychosocial well-being in that it involves emotional, social and physical components.

Poor psychosocial environments may be health damaging and contribute to health inequalities. A considerable body of research evidence already suggests that the physical environment may influence mental health outcomes.

The neighbours of the proposed Maison Dieu Solar Factory will overlook 200 hectares of photovoltaic panels and substation everyday, particularly the three homes adjacent to the proposed industrial development. There has been no consideration of how this physical environment will impact the mental health of local residents.

The impact of reduction of green spaces must also be considered. These large-scale solar factories are expected to remain for 25-30 years. This is 25-30 years where 200 hectares of productive, green agricultural land is turned into black photovoltaic solar panels.
Research shows environmental factors may also help promote mental health (Palinkas et al. 2020), particularly exposure to green spaces (i.e., nature reserves, wilderness environments, and urban parks) (Barton and Rogerson 2017). There is a direct link between exposure to natural environments and a decrease in symptoms of mental illness (Bratman et al. 2019) while increasing happiness and subjective well-being (White et al. 2013).

Children (Carroquino et al. 2012; Mitro et al. 2015), the elderly, pregnant and postpartum women (Lowe et al. 2020), people with preexisting mental illness, people facing economic and social disadvantage, and first responders (Osofsky et al. 2011) are among the groups identified as being uniquely vulnerable to environmental exposures. Another vulnerability factor that has been largely overlooked by state policymakers is that environmental factors can worsen health outcomes for people with preexisting mental illness.

Current NSW government policies fail to adequately address the mental health impacts of the environment on individuals and communities. These signs of distress are either overlooked or viewed by regulators and policymakers as ancillary, or as a risk-communication challenge and it’s time for change.

The NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure must understand that how communities are organised, towns and cities are designed, and societies are supported all have ramifications for mental health. The population-level psychosocial factors have individual-level biological impacts especially for rural residents near large scale solar factories and the local community.

It is no longer acceptable to dismiss population-level and public mental health impacts as being unempirical or less scientific when deciding these large-scale renewable energy projects in rural residential areas.

Please consider the “quality of life” of the residents and local Singleton community and reject this proposal.

Yours sincerely

Cynthia Korff

My parents own a property which will be surrounded by solar panels. They dont want to be surrounded by metal, they want and deserve the farm land, which is why they bought the property. My grandparents built the house that they reside in. My children want to visit ‘the Farm’ not a tin city.
My parents are retired now and want to enjoy that, not have people coming and going around their space, they don’t want mirror reflections hitting them in the face, every time they go out the door, or look out their windows.
What happens when it’s time to sell our ‘family’ home?? What is left for our children????

Terrain Solar’s Maison Dieu Solar Electricity Generating Works + BESS is a totally objectional, Environmentally Destructive, life threatening Fire Risk that is useless, weather dependent & a toxic contamination disaster - against the best interests of Australia.

Ugly Industrialised Solar Electricity Generating Works & Battery Energy Storage hazards will NEVER provide reliable, affordable Australian power which is an essential service for the people of NSW.
Depending on the weather means they are flaky, a very silly idea & DON’T WORK most of the time.
This toxic contaminating plan DOES NOT belong on essential, irreplaceable Food growing land at all as irreversible environmental harm will inevitably occur & our children’s Energy Security & Food Security future will be ruined forever.

Maison Dieu Solar & BESS is a despicable, diabolical plan designed to rip-off the Australian public with CONtrolling Energy Poverty & a massive Land Grab designed to reduce our limited, irreplaceable FOOD growing land - entombing it in Toxic PV forever - contaminating our healthy soil & water - wrecking our children’s future & making Australia weak - beholden to the CCP - our most hostile enemy!

Maison Dieu Industrialised Solar Electricity Generating Works + BESS has no social licence as it is a horribly dangerous, extremely toxic & totally useless plan that is a complete waste of public money as it will never provide secure, reliable, affordable power.

Terrain Solar’s Maison Dieu Industrial Solar ‘Factory’ & BESS is a dreadful plan - designed to create toxic fires, deprive Australian people of power, cost us a motzer & never be cleaned up.

Maison Dieu Solar ‘Factory’ & BESS is part of the most obscene, non-sensical, ruinable plans for Australia, destroying our precious biodiversity & ecology, contaminating our essential Agricultural land & water supplies & seriously harming Australian people & our children’s future forever with toxic junk & energy deprivation.

I OBJECT to Terrain Solar’s horrible plan for Maison Dieu Solar Electricity Generating Works with 110,000 Environmentally Destructive, TOXIC Solar Panels & Hazardous PFAS causing BESS that are a grossly negligent FIRE Disaster, only work part-time & create a massive pile of toxic waste that is ruining Australia.

Please refer to my attached submission.

More research and testing is required to prove that "forever chemicals" or any toxic substance, will never contaminate the surrounding soils and waterways.

As a lifelong farmer, seeing our beautiful farming lands being transformed into industrial zones is a crying shame. These so called renewable projects are an insult to the men and women who've been feeding the nation for the past 250years. The contamination from the panels will be a forever problem for a very short term, short sighted gain. There are better options coming available and we'd be better off to wait for nuclear than to deface our continent with this forever rubbish. It is not recyclable and will be landfill.
I Object to this project wholeheartedly.

Industrialised Solar Electricity Generating Works & an incapable Battery Energy Storage System is an extremely destructive, disingenuous plan with a contaminating lifecycle that is not one bit clean, green or sustainable.
Being weather dependent is useless, only ensuring it will never provide reliable, cheap power on demand.
Australians need far superior 24/7 Australian power with a minimal environmental footprint.

I Object to Maison Dieu Solar Electricity Generating Works & BESS as I am extremely concerned for the great loss of farming land and land for animal life!
When we lose endangered animals they are gone!

I also feel farmers are not protected from malpractice when they lease their land to big companies. My information tells me that their contracts do not protect farmers from having to dispose later of any waste.
The Government must responsibly ensure that overseas investors do not contribute to the waste challenges we already have, but as it stands this has not been adequately put in place at all.

The fact is that so called ‘renewables’ will not bring enough energy to supply ordinary Australians. They have not been proven to deliver continuous supply - approx 20% average Capacity Factor for Solar is NOT good enough!

I am very unhappy that there is no opportunity for open debate on this destructive energy depriving venture that will change the life of all Australians.
The fact is energy costs will rise for ordinary, already struggling householders.

The spin is: ‘ It looks good’.... NO!!!! NOT TRUE!!!
‘The Heavy Metals - including Lead - do not affect people’….. UNTRUE!!!
‘Farmers are in for a good deal’ ….. NOT AT ALL!!!

I Object to Maison Dieu Solar Electricity Generating Works & BESS because:-
* It is destructive to native flora and fauna;
* Construction will leave a legacy of land destruction that is unlikely to be rectified by the builder;
* It is an abomination on the natural landscape along with the whole NSW Energy Infrastructure Roadmap;
* It is part of a system that costs billions, does not work reliably and attempts to solve a problem that does not exist, in other words useless and irresponsible use of public funds;
* All such infrastructures should be built at developer’s expense, NOT on public funds, we are told wind and solar are the cheapest, well prove it, remove all subsidises do not build this system on public funds;
* The TOTAL cost has not been verified by independent experts, (refer to cost overruns of most projects in NSW;)
* There is NO verified scientific basis for reduction of CO2 in the atmosphere so this project is a total waste of public money, along with all other such projects.  There is in fact reliable verifiable scientific proof that CO2 is beneficial to plant life and by extension to human life on earth.

The lifespan of solar panels is too short, they are too big of a burden on the environment on decommissioning. The natural resources required to build, transport and erect solar farms on this scale is a detriment and not a benefit. Put them where there are already unused rooftops!! Sheds, car spaces, etc. NOT where the soils will be contaminated.

Not GREEN and NOT renewable! All natural resources required and used to construct the project will be a huge drain on our natural environment. A solar panel does not make a new solar panel in 10-15 years, they will be landfill. This is just shifting a problem not addressing it properly. Batteries and solar panels are also fire risks, another burden on our natural environment! Shipping in panels from China or wherever, nusing our natural resources is, once again, shifting the problem.

The Maison Dieu Solar Farm project presents significant environmental risks, including habitat destruction, threats to endangered species, incorrect carbon accounting, long-term pollution from solar panel degradation, and the exacerbation of the heat island effect. The inclusion of a 40MW/2-hour battery storage system adds further environmental risks, such as hazardous material waste, fire risks, and broader carbon lifecycle impacts. The cumulative effects on biodiversity, soil health, water systems, and local temperature regulation suggest that the project poses too great a risk to proceed in its current form.

My main objections to this hazardous Solar + BESS development are as follows:
1. The Paris Agreement states that Agricultural Land is to be protected from the type of developments proposed. That is utilising grazing but more importantly arable land to establish Industrial Complexes.
Only 4 per cent to 6 per cent of Australia's land mass is arable.
2. Much of the development money is from a Chinese Company connected to The Chinese Communist Party and therefore The Chinese Governnment. Australia has already witnessed how China treats other nations who question their policies. To have The P. R. C. construct power systems for Australia seems ludicrous - particularly as these systems do not provide reliable power and at the same time make China stronger and weaken Australia.
3. The hoped for introduction of AUKUS must surely point out the need for a Nuclear Power Industry particularly for South Australia.
4. When both the Federal and State Governments wake up to the fact that we are living in The Nuclear Age one would hope that the unbridled spread of these unreliable tax payer subsidised operations providing unreliable power would cease.
5. What agency, when common sense prevails, is going to remove these installations that are a blight on our wonderful Australian landscape and are making a few wealthy and the majority of Australians poorer in many ways.

We wish to object to the Maison Dieu Solar Project. As an adjoining landholder we believe it is too close to nearby residences. There is 7 residences within 50 - 150 metres from this project, the visual impact is dramatic for these residences. If this is approved we are worried about the flow on effect from this project for further expansion and other projects in this area.
Thankyou , Todd & Sharron