⁩ I’m writing to show my support for the Merino Solar Farm development. It’s a really well thought-out renewable energy project that makes sense for the Goulburn area.

The location next to Goulburn Airport is well-chosen in that it avoids issues with future town growth or nearby residents. It’s great the developers have taken into consideration the community and their views too by removing panels where needed, working with neighbours, and setting up benefit-sharing for nearby households. The annual community payment of over $380k over the life of the project is a thoughtful contribution for the community.

The economic benefits is considerable too - a $1 billion investment and more than 500 construction jobs to benefit the region, along with ongoing operational roles. I also like that farming can continue - sheep can continue grazing under the panels and the solar panels providing shade. On top of that, the project has clear plans for decommissioning and land restoration, with funding locked in from the start.

Overall, this feels like a responsible, low-impact renewable energy project that delivers real benefits to the community while helping NSW transition to clean energy. I strongly support its approval.

Please see attached document stating my objection to this proposal.

I support this project enthusiastically for the following reasons.

It has an incredibly well chosen location - Carefully chosen at the end of the Goulburn Airport runway, the projects location makes it a great neighbour to the airport while ensuring the project has no impact on planned town expansion.

It has been heavily consulted on with local residents and adjusted accordingly - To avoid any direct impact to neighbours of the project, 8 hectares of solar panels have been removed from the original project design. Neighbouring households have also been offered participation in a benefit‑sharing program, ensuring they can share in the advantages the project brings.

Massive economic advantage - The project is a $1 billion investment into the Goulburn region and will create over 500 jobs during construction and 10-12 during operation.

No interruptions to agriculture - Agreements have been made with host landowners to guarantee that the existing farming operations will continue under the solar panels. This includes the continuation of five generations of sheep farming, where the panels provide shade for the sheep, supporting higher yields and improved wool quality.

Responsible lifecycle management - Agreements with host landowners are in place to fund the clean-up and restoration of the land at the end of the project’s life.

Community Benefits - The organisation behind the project has committed to community benefit payments of $382,500 per year (plus CPI) for the projects 35-year lifespan.

Please see the attached document for my objection submission.

Stop destroying rural landscapes and our environment with this dangerous infrastructure.
This project will destroy a small and beautiful rural community. given this, i do not believe that the project should go ahead. Small communities need to be supported, not divided by projects like this. These solar and renewable energy projects carry significant fire risk and risk of toxic run-off.

i object to this project. solar power is unreliable and not a suitable source of energy to power NSW. why are rural communities being destroyed in order to power NSW? rural communities did not ask for this, so we should not have to accommodate such projects. this will also have ugly consequences on the landscape. We need food security for Australia and destroying agricultural land is opening our nation up for trouble.

I object to this project. Explore a reliable form of energy such as nuclear. Explore a cleaner form of energy such as nuclear. Solar and BESS are too dangerous for the environment. Solar and BESS presents significant fire risks.
The toxic run-off from such infrastructure associated with solar factory farms will be damaging to nearby properties and wildlife.
These projects bring with them too many detrimental and dangerous issues pertaining to the environment, visual amenities, health to livestock and wildlife, and health and safety to neighbouring properties.