There is cumulative fire hazard with other renewable/industrial developments
Given the scale of developments in the Orana REZ, cumulative fire hazard across multiple large battery / solar installations may exacerbate bushfire risk across the landscape. The EIS does not analyse cumulative risk across adjacent projects. I object that this interdependence has been ignored.

There are cumulative fire hazard with other renewable/industrial developments
Given the scale of developments in the Orana REZ, cumulative fire hazard across multiple large battery / solar installations may exacerbate bushfire risk across the landscape. The EIS does not analyse cumulative risk across adjacent projects. I object that this interdependence has been ignored.

The contamination risk from this toxic Solar/BESS hazard threatens compliance with the Livestock Production Assurance (LPA) program, undermining Australia's clean, green food and livestock export credentials.

Being in the midst of agricultural production makes this an unacceptable biosecurity and food safety risk with long-term economic and public health and safety impacts.

There are cumulative fire hazard with other renewable/industrial developments
Given the scale of developments in the Orana REZ, cumulative fire hazard across multiple large battery / solar installations may exacerbate bushfire risk across the landscape. The EIS does not analyse cumulative risk across adjacent projects. Interdependence has been ignored.

There is a precedent for further industrialisation of rural zones.
Approving such a massive project sets a precedent, inviting further encroachment into rural areas and weakening protections. This “monster” project becomes a template. On policy grounds — it’s the kind of leap in scale that should be resisted, not normalised.

I am a resident of Elong Elong and have attended a number of meetings locally held by Cobbora solar so I have a reasonable understanding of this project and its potential impact on our community.

My objections to this solar development are:-
- the impact of panels and chemical leeching on rural land. When questioning representatives regarding toxicity and leeching the comment was made these panels are ok as they are new and don’t have this issue. With further questioning the representative was unable to refer to any research that supported this comment.
- we are completely off grid with solar since 2011 and have no confidence in the capability of solar as a reliable source of power. Despite installing high quality components we have first hand experience on the limited life span of solar components. We rely on a large diesel generator on overcast or rainy days. We know that as one component needs replacement its replacement part is always no longer is compatible with our system.

The rural land in our community is prime agricultural land and is managed by generational farming families who have an affinity with the land and with the water sources that support them. Converting this land to an industrial energy zone will lead to the loss of these farming families and their expertise and knowledge.

As with all the current development proposals the risk to local water supplies has become contentious. Initial boastings by developers that water will be carted in has quickly turned to accessing underground bore water. Our underground water systems are the life blood of the local agricultural industry. Our area underwent a severe protracted drought with all water sources becoming scare in recent years. This drought eliminated water not just for agricultural purposes but also domestic with aid and charity agencies supporting farming families resupply water tanks for their families- basic water for drinking, cooking and washing. The importance of water security in our communities cannot be underestimated and cannot just be ‘winged’ and local sources tapped into and then depleted.

Finally our small community is a very caring community and the actions of developers has created a division across families and neighbours. We rely upon each other, our social connection, so that when adversity hits we have some resilience in store.

This plan violates the Paris Agreement.

By consuming valuable agricultural land and introducing contamination threats, the project directly contradicts Article 2.1(b) of the Paris Agreement, which requires climate action to proceed "in a manner that does not threaten food production."

This is climate policy in reverse — sacrificing food for failed green optics.

NSW Fire Services say Solar and BESS Fires are highly toxic and uncontrollable - with BESS often burning for days.

Fire and Rescue NSW has issued an alarming warning about large-scale lithium battery installations:
•there is no consistent guidance,
• no reliable extinguishing methods,
•no local firefighting capacity for such complex chemical fires.

This project poses an extreme hazard to the emergency services and communities around it.

The lithium-ion BESS and solar infrastructure contain dangerous ‘forever chemicals’ which are known to leach into groundwater and surface water.
This directly violates the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines and places communities and agricultural lands at risk of irreversible contamination — a public health disaster in the making.

Compete failure to quantify greenhouse gas life‑cycle emissions properly
The EIS projects CO₂ savings, but fails to account for embodied emissions ; manufacturing panels, batteries, material transport, maintenance, eventual disposal. Without full life‑cycle accounting, the claimed Clean Energy benefits are overstated. This is totally misleading emissions claims.