The final council meeting of this term’s councillors on Monday, September 16, was high energy, with discussions on everything from the four-bin garbage system to lighting across the shire.
But, there was one topic on which all councillors agreed: the Cooba solar farm.
Councillors argued that the Cooba solar farm was proposed for an inappropriate location and criticised the Victorian Government’s decision to remove local governments’ say on decisions relating to renewables in their own community.
The Colbinabbin Renewable Action Group, which concerns itself with the Cooba solar farm, has expressed concerns about the location on the eastern slope of the Mt Camel Range, which the group claims is “prime agricultural land”.
At the council meeting, Cr Paul Jarman put forward a motion to endorse a submission to the Cooba solar farm’s planning application for consideration and assessment.
Additionally, during the meeting, Cr Jarman sought to add a point to the motion to submit a proposal to the minister for planning asking that the advertised planning application’s period for the Cooba solar farm take place outside local government’s caretaker election period, so that the new council would be able to respond accordingly to the advertised planning application.
Cr Jarman, who has previously expressed his disappointment at the solar farm’s proposed location, said that while renewable energy projects were being built, the government needed to be careful about placing them in rural communities with little consultation as to where.
“There are other choices and in other places … this is an economic decision they made (for) a solar farm that ultimately could go somewhere (else) and it could still meet the needs of our energy renewables,” he said.
Later, he described the visual impact of the solar farm if it were to be built where it was currently being proposed.
“The Mt Camel Range is 450m high, it goes for over 30km long, of which you’ll be able to see this (solar farm) for over 20km,” he said.
“The panels are 8m high in the middle of the world’s recognised shiraz-producing communities — for it not to be considered a poor location by the state government would be very disappointing.”
Cr Adrian Weston, who seconded the motion, said the Mt Camel Range would be “one of the most inappropriate” locations regarding visual impact.
Cr John Zobec suggested that Melbourne take the brunt of the renewable energy infrastructure.
“I certainly believe that this state government doesn’t want (solar farms) in their own backyards,” he said.
“Stick it in Melbourne somewhere ... put it on the roofs, there’s no problems there.
“This is just a cheap way of getting around sticking things where they can’t see it, and it’s about time that as a community that everyone stands up and tells them to get lost.”
Cr Daniel Mackrell expressed his scepticism about the project itself, but also with the “interesting timing” of councillors’ advocacy and concern with this project in relation to local government elections approaching.
“I’m not against solar farms, but what I am a little bit wary of is that we’re right near a council election, and we’ve had several solar planning things go through over the last three to four years,” he said.
“It’s very interesting to see, right now, that people are sticking up their hands and saying ‘Let’s make more advocacy and put our foot down’ — (it’s) just interesting in the timing.”
The motion was carried, with all nine councillors voting to endorse the submissions.
In August, the Cooba Solar Project released a community update notifying concerned residents through a newsletter that the pre-planning permit application had been lodged with the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning and a public notice of the application for planning permit would be towards the end of September for a period of 28 days.
In August, a petition with 1362 signatures was tabled by state Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland in parliament, expressing the Colbinabbin community’s concern with the solar farm’s location and asking for it to be reconsidered.
The submission would request that the public notice of the application take place after the council election. The first ordinary council meeting (after the mayoral election) is scheduled to take place on November 19.
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