Minister dismisses neighbour concerns on $750m King Valley solar farm

The Allan government has defended its decision to approve what will become one of Australia’s largest solar farms on prime agricultural land in Victoria’s northeast.

Victorian Energy and Resources Minister Lily D'Ambrosio said everyone’s views on the project were properly considered. Picture: NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

Victorian Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio has defended the fast-tracked approval for what will become one of Australia’s largest solar farms, insisting the views of objectors were appropriately considered before the green light was given.

The Allan government has given planning approval for the project on prime agricultural land in Victoria’s northeast – in what one planning expert described as the “autocratic imposition of a project without any regard for the principles of a liberal democracy”.

Neighbours of the proposed $750m, 566ha, 332 megawatt Meadow Creek Solar Farm and 250 megawatt battery, on land the size of 280 MCGs in the King River catchment south of Wangaratta, learnt late on Friday that the project had been approved.

Planning laws enacted by the state government last year to fast-track renewables projects have left some in the local community feeling they had no avenue for appeal, despite more than 500 objections being submitted.

Ms D’Ambrosio said such projects were important in achieving the transition of the energy grid to renewable energy, but they still went through the appropriate scrutiny before being approved.

She said all of the objectors had the opportunity to put their views forward, and they were considered by Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny.

Bobinawarrah cattle farmers Jess and John Conroy with the youngest of their four children, Will, on their property next door to the proposed Meadow Creek Solar Farm. Picture: Zoe Phillips

“We need to make sure that we have the right electricity and supports in place to ensure that not only can we continue to enjoy the cheapest wholesale and retail energy prices in the country, but that we also keep the lights on right across our state,” she said.

“These projects don’t go ahead unless they’ve got the agreement of the relevant landholders. In this case, there are agreements in place with the relevant landholders and the proponents of the project.

“All of the planning approvals and the opportunity for Victorians to have their say – they’ve been put forward, they’ve been considered and the Planning Minister has made their decision.”

Concerns from neighbours and other objectors included impacts on endangered species, contamination of nearby watercourses, increased fire risk, and the associated likelihood that neighbours will be uninsurable.

RMIT Emeritus Professor of Environment and Planning Michael Buxton earlier told The Australian the Commonwealth’s Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act was triggered by the fact that at least three endangered species – including the rare Sloane’s froglet, bandy-bandy snake and gang-gang cockatoo – were likely to be impacted by the project.

Professor Buxton said the “really disturbing” aspect of the project was that it would be built in “one of the most beautiful landscapes in the state, and it’s now being turned into a quasi industrial plant”.

“If a project like this can go in a beautiful place like the King Valley, it can go anywhere, and it is going anywhere,” he said.

“It’s an autocratic imposition of a project without any regard for principles of a liberal democracy. That’s the worrying thing – that governments are just overriding all the normal principles.”