FAQs

What are the benefits to the wider community?

Employment

Large scale renewable projects create long-term employment (30 yrs+) which is rare in many rural communities.  Employment is bolstered not only in the construction and maintenance of renewable projects, but all the way through the local business supply chain – including pubs, hotels, B&B’s, café’s, caterers, cleaners, uniform suppliers, fuel suppliers, hardware suppliers, vehicle and machinery servicing and many other businesses.  In 2012, 24,000 Australians were employed in the renewable energy sector and the industry is set to generate an additional new 18,400 jobs by 2020 (CEC 2015).

Construction workers would be expected to inject approximately $1.5 million in additional spending to the regional economy over the construction phase, supporting around 7.5 FTE jobs in the service sector in Horsham and the smaller towns. For full economic benefits report link on the link below:

(Insert link to econ benefits study)

 Keeping the price of electricity down

According to Deloitte, Australian households will pay $510 million more for power in 2020 without renewable growth through the Renewable Energy Target (RET) and up to $1.4 billion more per year beyond 2020. Renewables increase competition in the wholesale energy market, and, as in any market, less competition means higher prices.

To demonstrate how this works, Powershop has created an excellent YouTube video which can be viewed at Powershop.

A better environment

Renewable Energy projects do not emit carbon dioxide (CO2), airborne particulates or other greenhouse gas emissions during their operation. As such, they generate clean, green electricity over a long period of time, which contributes to making Australia a cleaner and healthier society. At the end of their operational life, renewable infrastructure like solar farms can be removed quickly and easily without a lifetime of residual pollution to deal with. There are no fossil fuel-based generators that can do this.

Is solar energy efficient?

There are some websites which seek to discredit renewable energy as a viable, cost effective, efficient energy source. The cost and generation numbers of renewable energy generators speak for themselves. In 2015, renewable energy surpassed coal to become the largest source of global electricity capacity1. The International Energy Agency is predicting that renewable energy will triple its current generation levels over the next 25 years. In terms of investment in the global power sector, more is being invested in renewable energy than in oil, gas and coal combined (Source: IEA 2015). The world’s major institutional investors and sovereign wealth funds are divesting from fossil fuels and investing in renewable energy, because they understand that renewable energy provides a stable, long-term means of power generation at a very low cost, with no residual pollution risks or risks to their investors/shareholders.  As a result of this investment, renewable energy will continue to grow in Australia.  In comparison, pure coal companies business interests have shrunk by 60% in Australia since 2012.

Do renewable energy generators get big subsidies?

In Australia, renewable energy generators receive income from selling the power they generate, plus they receive an ‘LGC’ (Large scale Generations Certificate), which can be traded for cash value.  According to ACIL Allen, LGC’s presently cost the Australian public an average of around $50 per year on their energy bills. However, this cost is offset by reducing the wholesale cost of power during market price spikes.

By comparison, according to the International Monetary Fund, Australians subsidise fossil fuel interests by $41billion, or the equivalent of $1,772 per person per year or around 2% of Australia’s GDP.2

You should also consider that most fossil fuel generation in Australia is provided by plant which was built by the State many years ago, much of which is beyond its design life and has now been fully depreciated. This means that the cost of building the plant has been fully repaid and the current cost of generating electricity only reflects what it takes to maintain and operate the facility. Faced with this any new generation plant, regardless of fuel source, would need some form of support mechanism to enter the market. As this older plant reaches the end of its useful life it will need to be replaced and the cost of any replacement plant will need to account for full costs to build, operate and maintain it. The Renewable Energy Target under which LGC’s are issued is there to ensure that new generating plant can enter the market and that there is an orderly transition to renewable technologies.

1 Source: International Energy Agency – website http://www.iea.org/topics/renewables/ date accessed 10th April 2017

2 Source: IMF Working Paper – 'How Large Are Global Energy Subsidies?' http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/2015/wp

Why are the solar farms located here and not elsewhere?

The site meets the key criteria:

• Close proximity to the grid transmission network with available capacity
• Excellent transport access with minimal impact to local roads and excellent access to major roads
• Excellent exposure to Australia’s world class solar resource
• Far removed from a flood area
• Very low environmental impacts – the site has minimal tree and shrub coverage and has been historically heavily cropped
• Flat cleared land for highly competitive construction cost

RES uses a GIS (Geospatial Information System)-based search system to help identify potential solar farm sites. This highlights areas that meet our criteria for large, level ground that doesn’t contain protected ecological areas, outside flood risk zones with road access that have suitable high voltage grid lines adjacent to the site.

Are the solar farms a waste of good agricultural land?

The land is currently used for crop production. The projects would displace cropping at the sites for the life of the solar farm.

However, it is expected that sheep grazing would continue at the solar farm sites. RES have commissioned a study by a local agronomist to determine how grazing could be undertaken at the solar facility in a sustainable way. Additionally, RES have developed a plan which will be implemented when the plant is operational.

The solar farms would not affect farming operations on neighbouring properties and the projects would not have any long-term effect on the agricultural potential or land use of the sites, beyond the life of the solar farms.

Will the biodiversity assessments be accurate?

The sites have been comprehensively surveyed for biodiversity in line with stringent government requirements. This precautionary approach will be employed to ensure any species of conservation significance that have the potential to occur, but cannot be detected due to inappropriate season for surveys, will be considered. Any impacts that cannot be avoided will be minimised and/or adequately offset in accordance with government guidelines.

Will there be a lot of concrete used to construct the projects?

No concrete is used for the solar panels, which make up the majority of the site infrastructure and are mounted on piles which are driven into the ground. Concrete use is limited to parts of the substation, battery storage foundation construction and possibly plinths for the inverters depending on final design.

Will there be increased dust from heavy traffic and earthworks?

To prevent dust from affecting neighbours and road users, unsealed roads and bare works surfaces at the project site would be watered down as required.

After construction, there is likely to be limited dust coming off the property than before because perennial groundcover would be established across the site.

Will the construction traffic create delays and collision risks for stock and road users?

Construction traffic would use the Henty Highway and local roads to get to the project sites. Heavy traffic would be intermittent and would be confined to the construction period. During construction of the projects, it is expected that:

• 90% of employees arrive during the morning peak hour and depart during the evening peak hour
• 30% of employees are expected to car pool
• Heavy equipment is expected to be delivered to site at the beginning of construction phases and removed at the end
• Truck arrivals/ departures are expected to be evenly distributed throughout the day

Local residents neighbouring the project sites will be consulted regarding the timing and impacts of traffic in the build-up to and during construction. To ensure road safety, transport routes, upgrade designs and traffic management plans would be developed with and approved by Horsham and Yarriambiack Shire Councils in advance of construction.

Traffic impacts would also be minimised by:

• Upgrading intersections where required to ensure road user safety
• Avoiding deliveries during peak use periods (tourism festivals, commuting times), where possible
• Using traffic controls and speed limits to ensure road safety
• Carpooling/shuttle bus arrangements to minimise staff vehicle movements
• Arranging for the repair of any road damage during the construction period
• Providing a contact phone number for the public to enable rapid response to any issues or concerns

How will concerns and complaints during construction be handled?

An ‘Information and Complaints’ phone service would be set up to speedily respond to any concerns during the construction period.

What about the visual impact and the effect on the landscape character?

Major visual impacts are not expected because the terrain is flat and the height of the solar array would be a maximum of 4 metres.

Will the safety and security of the area be affected?

The solar farms would have on-site staff, perimeter security fencing, infra-red lighting and cameras to deter vandalism and theft. The solar farms are not expected to increase the risk of anti-social behaviour in the locality nor are the solar farms on any tourist routes, and should not attract casual passers-by.

Will the project increase the local fire risk?

The solar array would be largely constructed of glass, silicon, steel and aluminium and would have very low flammability. Vulnerable equipment at the site, such as the Energy Storage Facility and the substation will be fitted with lightning protection and surrounded by a fenced, gravelled compound. The Energy Storage Facility would have integrated fire detection and control system using inert fire suppression gases.

During construction, a Fire Management Plan would be used to manage fire risks during the construction period, including the suspension of work with potential to cause an ignition during total fire ban days.

The solar farm buildings would be constructed of low combustibility or non-combustible materials.

During the operation phase, fire risks would be minimised by maintaining low vegetation fuel levels, on-site water supplies and good firefighting access.

After operation commences, the local RFS and Fire and Rescue brigades would be invited to an information and orientation day at the site. The proponent would also facilitate and fund on-site training for local brigades in the management of lithium-ion battery fires.

Are there any radiation impacts and will there be interference to mobile phone reception?

Electromagnetic fields (EMF) would be produced by electrical components at the site. EMFs also occur naturally in the environment.

EMFs around power lines and the substation would be less than recommended limits. Research in America has found that EMFs from solar arrays were not distinguishable from background levels at the site boundary. The inverters in the solar array would produce Extremely Low Frequency EMFs, which are not hazardous to human health.

The EMF levels at distances of 5-10 metres from substations are generally indistinguishable from typical background levels in a home. The lithium-ion batteries used in the Energy Storage Facility are not associated with high levels of EMF.

Most cabling installed for the project would be buried along the access tracks and radiation emissions would be negligible.

The solar farm would not likely interfere with local mobile phone, radio or television reception. These devices operate at a much higher frequency than the AC electrical equipment that would be used at the solar farms, and any EMFs produced by the solar farms would dissipate rapidly with distance from the source.

Will weeds and pest animals be controlled at the sites?

Weed control would be undertaken prior to the works and would continue throughout the life of the solar farms. Pest animals would also be controlled as required in accordance with a monitoring plan.

What happens after the solar farm closes down?

The solar farms are expected to operate for about 30 years. After decommissioning, the above ground infrastructure would be removed to a depth of 500mm.

The sites would be returned to their pre-works state. Soil surveys have been undertaken to ensure that soils are restored to their original condition.

The projects would not have any long-term effect on agricultural productivity or land use options.