MURRAY River Council is concerned about wind farm development on prime, productive agricultural land in the shire, particularity cropping land reliant on chemical spraying.
Councillors also highlighted concerns about insurance issues, and the visual impact of 300m tall wind turbines.
Cr Geoff Wise moved a notice of motion at last month’s ordinary council meeting, that the council receive and note the officer’s response to two questions: Does council have an adopted policy regarding development within prime, productive agricultural land, and does the State Environmental Planning Policy Primary Production and Rural Development 2019 allow/enable development associated with the South West Renewable Energy Zone (SW Rez), particularly near Kyalite?
Director of planning and environment Gary Arnold said the council didn’t have a policy on prime, productive agricultural land.
“However, it is important to note that consent for state significant development, like renewable infrastructure projects, falls to the state,” Mr Arnold said.
“State Environmental Planning Policy (Primary Production and Rural Development) 2019 (SEPP) has several aims, which include to facilitate the orderly economic use and development of lands for primary production; and to encourage sustainable agriculture.
“The SW Rez was formally declared by the Minister for Energy under section 19(1) of the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Act 2020.
“State significant development, such as VNI West, will undergo robust planning assessment from the consent authority (not council) that will take into account the existing SEPP.”
Cr Wise said it was “unfortunate” not all councillors could have “seen with their own eyes” cropping land in Kyalite with 93 turbines being erected beside it.
“It’s a massively great area for growing crops and really a good food bowl area,” he said.
“It’s a shame to see it go there when it could go in other lower value areas, like grazing country where there’s very little chemical used at all.
“Whereas these guys can control the wind, they can change the wind for 32km out.
“So the guy’s spraying, and he’s spraying the wrong chemical that doesn’t suit the farm next door.
“He’s going to cost his whole farm, his whole family, his whole life, in one gun, and he can only get insurance for that from America.
“It’s a serious thing that if this council just shuts its eyes.”
Cr Wise’s argument wasn’t just centred around the location of wind farms.
“It’s just ridiculous to see 93 wind turbines, 2000 tonnes of concrete – the size of eight Olympic swimming pools – going under the ground for each one,” he said.
“Their life span is only 25 years but I hope they eventually think that they’re worth standing there just to make sure they keep it going for 50 years, because it seems a shame to fill an area up with eight concrete swimming pools full and then walk away.
“I think we need a policy … it’s the most important policy when he talk about the future of agriculture.”
Cr Gen Campbell said the current state and federal governments supported renewables at all costs.
“Their policies and legislation overrides any council,” she said.
“It doesn’t matter how good the land is there, they’re open slather.
“The other thing is these companies don’t have to have any facility in place for disposing infrastructure in 30 years time.
“I think in the fine print that issue belongs with the farmer whose land it’s on.
“It’s all weighted against us, plus the wind turbines only turn so many times in a week.
“We’re just being caught up in this bureaucratic nonsense.”
Cr Neil Gorey said he wasn’t against renewables, but they shouldn’t impact local landholders.
“One of my greatest concerns is the cost of public liability insurance,” he said.
“It’s not only about the wind and chemicals, but fires as well.
“Any of those intensive farming activities certainly increases the risk of a fire on your own property.
“And if that spreads to that infrastructure, obviously there’s no public liability insurance that I’m aware of that is affordable to farmers.
“This not only affects people next to wind power, but all those around solar farms as well.”
Acting chief executive Sarah Ryan told the council that officers have co-ordinated a workshop this month from SW Rez and the projects looking to benefit.
She said the council had already written to the energy minister and put a submission into the inquiry into the impacts of renewable energy zones in rural and regional communities.
Mayor John Harvie acknowledged there were many in the west of the council area divided over renewable energy on farmland.
