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Add to Preferred SourcesA 30MW solar farm has been approved for development in Victoria’s Goulburn Valley region, alongside the release of state government guidelines to help councils, developers and communities negotiate the state’s boom in large-scale solar proposals.
The Congupna solar project was approved for development by the state Labor government on October 8th, six months after being “called in” by the state planning minister alongside three other solar farms proposed for the same area, governed by the Greater Shepparton Council.
The proposed projects – including Tallygaroopna (68MW), Lemnos (100MW) and Tatura East (45MW) – had divided the community, particularly around the associated loss of prime agricultural land.
State planning minister Richard Wynne said on October 8th that the government had approved the 30MW Congupna proposal, which would create around 110 jobs, and generate enough clean energy to power 10,000 homes.
He said the Congupna facility would be built on “non-irrigated agricultural land” and was expected to drive almost $40 million in capital expenditure.
The decision on the other three, however, had been deferred until further strategic work was completing for the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District, Minister Wynne said.
In the meantime, the government has also released new draft guidelines to help inform councils, developers and communities on planning requirements for large-scale solar projects.
The guidelines aim to ensure proposed projects are built in the right locations, easily accessible to the grid and give careful consideration to high productivity agricultural areas and sensitive landscapes.
Original source: Renew Economy
Published on 8 October 2018