Council's submission to the Victorian planning minister will highlight several unresolved issues and deficiencies in the proposal to occupy about 600 hectares with solar panels.
Campaspe Shire Mayor Daniel Mackrell said council’s submission will argue the project does not align with the strategic planning context and fails to demonstrate strong economic community benefits, particularly in relation to job creation and procurement.
“Whilst we fully support solar energy facilities in suitable locations, we feel that the Cooba Solar Farm's proposed site and unresolved issues make it an unsuitable choice,” Cr Mackrell said.
“Council has been advocating against this location for many months and provided supporting information to all members of the Legislative Council during its regional sitting in April in Echuca.”
The Cooba Solar Farm project involves the construction of a solar farm and battery energy storage system on a 1147-hectare site at 124 Cornella Church Rd and Plain Rd, Colbinabbin, by the Venn Energy company.
The proposed development includes about 700,000 solar panels and the removal of 6.505 hectares of native vegetation, including 71 large trees.
Council's review found the proposal was contrary to the Campaspe Planning Scheme and the Solar Energy Facilities Design and Development Guideline.
Key concerns include the loss of productive agricultural land, inadequate soil surveys, and insufficient information on decommissioning and land restoration.
The report tabled and endorsed at the council meeting recommends that the planning minister reject the Cooba Solar Farm planning application due to its potential negative impact on agricultural land and the local environment.
Councillors also requested that officers write to the proponent requesting they refer the project to the Commonwealth environment minister to determine if the project is a controlled action under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999).
The project is expected to be operational from 2027 and will have a capacity of up to 500 MW, which is enough to power 180,000 Victorian homes. It will also include a battery energy storage system (BESS) with a capacity up to 300 MW.
Venn Energy says the project will provide a number of environmental benefits and see a significant social and economic boost to the local community and surrounding areas.
