Members of the Colbinabbin community, including winegrowers and farmers, went to Melbourne on Wednesday, April 2, to continue their fight against the proposed Cooba Solar Project.
State Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell led the barrage of opposition speeches, asking the planning minister to deny a permit to build the Cooba project in its proposed location, because it contravenes planning guidelines that are intended to protect agricultural land.
She said the proposed solar farm will carpet 665 hectares of prime agricultural land in the Heathcote wine region with more than 700,000 solar panels and more than 100 batteries the size of shipping containers.
“The size and location of the proposal goes against the Victorian Government’s own Solar Energy Facilities Design and Development Guideline 2022, which states that a ‘solar energy facility should not lead to ... the loss of productive, state-significant agricultural land’.”
Ms Lovell said the proposal also goes against Clause 53.13 of the Campaspe Planning Scheme, which governs renewable energy proposals and requires them to consider the impact of the project on “significant views, including visual corridors and sightlines”.
The Cooba Solar Project will put 700,000 solar panels that are more than 5 metres high in the sightlines of local wineries.
The vineyards and cellar doors on the elevated eastern side of the Mt Camel Range are 80 to 120m above the proposed site, and no amount of landscape screening will reduce the negative visual impact of the solar facility.
“If the Allan Labor Government approves this giant solar farm, it will take prime agricultural land out of production, and it will spoil forever the beauty of the views from the Mt Camel Range that are vital for attracting tourists to the wine region,” Ms Lovell said.
Ms Lovell was followed by State Member for Northern Victoria Gaelle Broad, who stressed the agricultural value of the site, and asked the agriculture minister to ensure that agricultural values are protected.
Shadow Minister for Local Government Bev McArthur raised concerns over the bypassing of local councils in decisions about renewable energy projects, and asked the local government minister to give local councils and communities a voice in these matters.
Last year a petition was tabled in state parliament calling for a halt on the project.
12°C