Residents of a rural beauty spot are rebelling against plans to build a huge solar farm in their backyard, despite reportedly being offered $20,000 each to drop their opposition.
Angry residents will attend a public meeting on Thursday night to object to the Wallaroo Solar Farm, which will cover almost 400ha, or about 750 rugby fields, of grazing land north-west of the ACT border in the Yass Valley Council area.
The project’s developers, New Energy Development and Univergy International, plan to install enough panels to generate around 100 MW or enough power for around 48,000 homes per year, but locals say this will destroy the area’s amenities.
Lachlan McCaffrey, a farmer and former Brumbies rugby star, said even a so-called “neighbourhood agreement” where locals were offered $20,000 not to object to solar farms’ noise, vibration, visual traffic or impacts on water quality had not calmed opposition.
“Every local resident was offered one of these silly deals,” he told Sydney radio station 2GB on Thursday.
‘It was an almost silent agreement: you sign it and, regardless of the environmental impact it generates, you cannot oppose it.
‘All the residents almost laughed at it. We are community-focused here.
‘They want us to sign these agreements so that some mega-rich solar executives living in Canada and Japan can make more money.
Farmer and former Brumbies rugby star Lachlan McCaffrey (pictured with wife Tash McCaffrey and daughters Harper, 5, and Mia, 2) is opposed to the Wallaroo solar farm.
“They’ve never been to Wallaroo, so they don’t even know the impact. They’ve just given a ballpark figure to shut people up.”
McCaffrey, who played primarily as a second-rower for the ACT Brumbies in Super Rugby as well as the NSW Waratahs and Western Force, told the Canberra Times last week: “Everyone here is dirty about this whole thing.
“It’s crazy. Everything we want to protect here – the beautiful views, the space, the tranquility, the environment – is in danger.
‘One landowner is making a lot of money from this and everyone else will suffer for it.
An artist’s impression of the Wallaroo solar farm, which will cover 400ha of grassland.
The planned solar park would generate around 100 MW or enough energy for approximately 48,000 homes per year.
“This is a fight we cannot lose because everything we have worked for over the years, all the reasons we came here to Wallaroo, are now under threat.”
McCaffrey told 2GB that a property expert had warned him there would be “hundreds of thousands of dollars of depreciation here with the installation of these solar panels.”
Despite 88 of the 97 unique public submissions opposing the project, which would generate around 100MW or enough power for approximately 48,000 homes per year, the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure supports the proposal.
Due to the strength of opposition, which also includes Yass Council, the project has been referred to the NSW Independent Planning Commission (IPC).
McCaffrey accused the project developer and the New South Wales planning department of being out of touch with local concerns.
“They are very naive about the current situation,” he told 2GB.
‘These solar companies are not based in Australia, so they do not care about Australia or the local community.
McCaffrey says the Wallaroo solar farm would devalue his property and other properties in the region
Residents have claimed that the planned solar park would harm the natural environment at the foot of Brindabellas.
‘New South Wales ministers and planning staff have not been to Wallaroo either.’
They’re looking at Google images from their fancy offices while making big decisions that negatively impact families here.
‘I simply ask them to drive along the road and look at where they are putting it, on prime grazing land at the foot of the Brindabellas, across the Murrumbidgee River.
‘There are thousands of voiceless residents here who are being negatively affected and no politician is going to support them or help them.
“It’s crazy.”
A spokesman for the New South Wales Department of Planning said its The Wallaroo Solar Farm assessment “thoroughly considered the potential impacts of the proposal on the environment and the community”.
The spokesperson said that “key issues such as energy security, land use compatibility and visual impacts were also taken into account.”
“Ultimately, the DPHI assessment concluded that the project could broadly be approved, subject to strict conditions, and that the DPHI will refer the proposal to the IPC for a final determination,” the spokesperson said.
‘The IPC, as an independent decision-making body, will assess the proposal independently of the Government.’
New Energy Development and Univergy have been contacted for comment.