NSW wind and solar farms divide neighbours in Australia’s rush to renewables

Foreign-owned wind and solar power companies are tearing farming communities apart in a mad scramble to cash in on Australia’s dash to renewable power.

Foreign-owned wind and solar power companies are tearing farming communities apart in a mad scramble to cash in on Australia’s dash to renewable power.

Farmers who have lived and worked side-by-side for generations are no longer speaking after one leases their land for a wind or solar farm leaving the other to stare at acres of solar panels.

Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce has condemned the rush to renewables as a “great energy swindle” that will see profits going overseas and Australians picking up the bill for higher energy prices.

“It has completely divided the community,” he said.

“One group makes money out of solar and wind being on their land and the next group then has to deal with a complete change to look at what is basically an industrial landscape.”

Farmer Josh Crowe says his relationship with his neighbour has fractured over their decision to install 750,000 solar panels on their land. Picture: Jonathan Ng

He said farmers were left thinking “not only does it diminish the value of my property, not only is it a complete imposition on my land, it’s also further foreign ownership of my nation.”

Research shows that companies putting foreign-made solar panels and wind turbines on Aussie farms come from countries including Singapore, China, France, Denmark, Canada, Korea and Saudi Arabia. All their profits go overseas.

“What is driving this is not people’s desire to cool the planet but people’s desire to make a shitload of money,” Mr Joyce said.

The divide was reflected nationally with research undertaken by SEC Newgate for the Bush Summit finding people in NSW, Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia equally divided between those who felt landholders should accept renewable energy infrastructure and those who felt it was right to oppose it.

Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce has condemned the rush to renewables as the ‘great energy swindle’. Picture: Jonathan Ng

The Mood of the Bush tracking survey found support for the transition to renewables had dropped to just over half of people in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia while support remained high in Tasmania and Western Australia with two thirds of the population.

Farmer Josh Crowe and his wife Liz found out from their neighbours that Paris-based energy company Total Eren is planning to put 750,000 solar panels on their land.

“The relationship has been fractured because of this,” Mr Crowe said.

“It is going to have a massive negative impact on the value of our place.”

He said they felt powerless in the face of a dramatic change to their lifestyle.

“We sit on the deck and look straight back down the valley towards Tamworth and now we’re going to be looking at 750,000 solar panels,” he said.

Bendemeer Renewable Hub project director Llewellyn Owens said not every renewable project needed to be handled in that way.

He is also a director of Singapore-based Metis Energy which has put together a consortium of 13 adjoining farms who have all signed up to host wind and solar power.

“We are trying to show a better way it can be done that sets a really good foundation for the whole community,” he said.

A solar farm on the outskirts of Gunnedah, NSW. Picture: Getty Images

Mr Owens conceded that energy companies were dividing communities and said the idea of putting like-minded farmers with adjoining properties together meant they accepted the visual pollution and would not mind transmission lines crossing their land to take the power to the national grid.

“If you invest in the region you bring local jobs and opportunities for the area,” he said.

A solar farm creates 300 jobs during construction and requires 15 to 20 people ongoing for maintenance.

“No one likes change. This is no different to any other major development be it coal or gas and it needs to take people on the journey first and to do that peoples’ concerns need to be listened to,” Mr Owens said.

Troy and Elise Robinson with their sons Noah, 10, Nash, 8, and Chad, 4, on their farm at Bendemeer. Picture: Jonathan Ng

The Robinsons are upset their neighbours are putting up a solar farm on the hill opposite their house. Picture: Jonathan Ng

CASE STUDY: AGAINST

The 180-acre farm just outside Tamworth looked like a rural paradise for Troy and Elise Robinson to bring up their three children.

Today their dream is in tatters after learning from their neighbours they would be putting a solar farm on the hill directly opposite their house.

“We bought to be in the country,” Mr Robinson said.

“The last thing we want to be doing is looking at an industrial solar farm.”

Their neighbours signed with Singapore-owned energy company Metis and dropped the news six months ago.

“Metis came to us with a neighbourhood agreement to silence us from talking about it and I told them: ‘Don’t let the gate hit you on the way out’,” Mr Robinson said.

But despite refusing to sign the agreement he said: “We feel as though we have no say.”

“It is just like the movie The Castle,” Mr Robinson said.

“It feels like we are being forced to leave.

“If we do ever decide to move, who would want to buy a property looking at a field of solar panels?” he said.

Peter Roffe will put wind, solar and batteries on his property. Picture Andrew Pearson

CASE STUDY: FOR

On the third attempt at negotiating with renewable energy companies, farmer Peter Roffe finally signed a deal to put wind, solar and batteries on his property.

“It was not something we sought to be involved in,” Mr Roffe said from his 830-acre cattle and sheep farm at Bendemeer outside Tamworth.

He knocked back approaches from Hong Kong-owned Alinta Energy and French-owned Neoen.

“It creates a lot of pressure on landholders even if you know you are getting a good deal,” he said.

However the secrecy surrounding the projects means farmers seldom know what anyone else is being paid. “Alinta wanted us to sign in 10 days and that was a dud,” Mr Roffe said.

When 12 of Mr Roffe’s neighbours signed up with Singapore-based Metis he saw the advantages, particularly with transmission lines crossing their land to take renewable power to the electricity grid.

He will put 300 megawatts of solar and 300 megawatts of wind generation on his property. On average wind turbines pay up to $8000 per megawatt generated every year while solar pays $2500 for every hectare covered with panels.

“You can still run the same number of sheep on a field of solar panels if they are properly spaced out,” he said.

“The added income from the electricity generation effectively drought proofs our property for the future,” he said. It also helps tackle global warming.

“We cannot keep burning fossil fuels worldwide, stuff that has been buried underground for countless years, and not have some consequence,” he said.

“If we get it wrong we are up shit creek.”