State Member for Northern Victoria Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell was expecting wide-ranging support for her maiden bill that aims to regulate where future solar farm projects are constructed.
The bill, introduced to the upper house on November 1, seeks to amend the Planning and Environment Act (1987) to ensure that solar farm projects are not built on prime agricultural land.
Mrs Tyrrell said the bill did not oppose solar energy generation but was to ensure the protection of food production.
“I support responsible renewable energy projects, but we must take a cautious approach to make sure such projects are established on suitable land,” she said.
“My bill is one of common sense and simply legislates the existing departmental considerations regarding where future solar farms should be built.”
The One Nation member told the Legislative Council the bill also addressed concerns of solar farms being built in catchment areas that overlapped bushfire-prone land.
“The threat implied here is that toxic lead and cadmium leaching out of burnt cells, soaking into catchment areas and groundwater, will irreversibly damage plants and detrimentally impact entire communities’ domestic water supplies,” she said.
According to many research bodies and an engineer who spoke to Country News, most of the materials in a solar panel are not flammable.
“Solar cells are generally silicon based and not likely to burn nor fail,” he said.
“Any plastic components may, but I have not heard of it.”
Mrs Tyrrell said she had been liaising with her parliamentary colleagues in the lead-up to the debate on Wednesday and expected to gain the support required for the bill to pass the Legislative Council.
Labor’s Ryan Batchelor told the Legislative Council the bill was “misguided’’.
Mr Batchelor said local governments within the Goulburn Valley were doing independent assessments of solar farms before construction and found that all were compatible.
He said there were a range of benefits of solar farm construction in local areas.
“We know that large scale (solar) farms can be complementary to agricultural production,” Mr Batchelor said.
“It can provide additional income sources for our food and fibre producers, so they have things that are less vulnerable to the often-occurring ups and downs.”
Mr Batchelor said the bill was founded on baseless localised fear-mongering and would be a hurdle to producing solar energy.
“In the context of the debate it was alleged that farmers were locked out about decision making on their land and that was not true.”
Labor MP Jacinta Ermacora said the bill was a ‘’false dichotomy“.
“This bill would have us believe that solar energy and agriculture ... would be mutually exclusive,” Ms Ermacora said.
“Some farms and families benefit incredibly from off-farm income and there is no doubt that farmers benefit from payments they receive from wind turbines and, in this case, solar (energy) as well.”
Opposition leader in the Legislative Council Georgie Crozier said the bill had legitimate concerns and moved that a committee be established to inquire into the matter.
Debate was adjourned.
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