Farmers, regional communities devastated but developers delighted by Victoria’s renewables fast-track 

Farmers and communities objecting to massive solar or wind farms would be forced to go to the ­Supreme Court under a radical Victorian plan to fast track renewable projects across the state, which the energy industry wants adopted nationwide.

The Allan government’s decision to accelerate the planning ­approval process for renewable energy projects has left regional communities deeply concerned, with the Victorian Farmers Federation condemning it as a “slap in the face after years of sham consultation”.

The changes will concentrate power in the hands of Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny, removing the requirement for applications to go before a planning panel, and block third-party ­appeals to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Appeals Tribunal, as the state moves desperately to meet its net-zero targets.

Set to be introduced from April 1, the measures are being touted by the government as providing investment certainty for the ­renewable energy industry by ­reducing the time taken from lodgement of application to a decision to four months.

But they effectively mean any person or community wishing to object to the Planning Minister’s decision will be forced to take the matter to the Supreme Court, at prohibitive expense.

The announcement comes after The Australian revealed on Thursday that Victoria’s offshore wind targets are likely to take longer to meet and be significantly more expensive than the state government has predicted – highlighting the pressure the state government faces to get onshore renewables projects moving in order to have any hope of meeting its target of 95 per cent renewable energy by 2035. As one of Australia’s most coal-dependent states, Victoria can ill-afford ­delays in developing renewable energy, with its two largest coal generators – Yallourn and Loy Yang A – set to retire in little more than 10 years.

Yallourn, which supplies about 22 per cent of Victoria’s electricity, is to close in 2028.

Stephanie Bashir, founder of energy consultancy Nexa Advisory, said the Victorian announcement should be the template for others – most ­notably NSW – to follow in the race to ­replace coal power.

“The announcement today from the Premier of Victoria is the exactly the action needed from the Minns government,” Ms Bashir said. “This will ensure (they) get the projects needed to close ­Eraring coal power station on time. This would also set us up for closures of other ageing power stations such as Vales Point, and accelerate the transition more broadly.”

VFF president Emma Germano said the green-lighting of major renewable projects added to a “poor track record” of consulting landholders and risked further alienating farmers.

“For the government to say they are genuinely listening to the concerns of these communities and then completely ignore them and fast-track the process smacks of arrogance,” she said.

Her comments come after the government stated in a March 2022 document justifying its offshore wind policy that it believed 70 per cent of the state’s agricultural land would be required for wind and solar if the offshore ­option was not utilised.

The country’s energy market operator has said it expects all of Australia’s coal power stations to be mothballed within 15 years, heightening the onus on new renewable energy projects being delivered.

Without sufficient new renewable energy capacity, Australia will see increased prices and a decade of unreliable supplies, the Australian Energy Market Operator has warned.

Aerial view of the Stubbo solar farm project which is under construction just north of Gulgong, NSW, part of the Central-West Orana renewable energy zone. Picture by Max Mason-Hubers

Developers have long said Victoria compares favourably to the likes of NSW, given the former has rules stating “affected people” are those within 1.5km of a wind farm. In NSW, people can object if they live within 8km.

“Victoria was already one of the best jurisdictions in the country. Everything they announced today will improve the ability of the industry to get projects off the ground,” said a senior energy executive who declined to be named.
Dmitry Danilovich – development director at Acciona ­Energia, one of the country’s largest renewable energy developers – said: “Today’s announcement is a welcome step towards getting more renewable energy into the electricity grid faster.”

The Conroy family: Will, 4, Jess, Isla 6, Anna, 8, John, and Jack, 10. The family fear the impact the proposed $750 million Meadow Creek Solar Farm will have on their farm at Bobinawarrah in north east Victoria.

Neighbors of John Conroy’s family cattle farm at Bobinawarrah, in northeast Victoria, proposed $750m, 570ha solar factory to be built at Meadow Creek in the King River catchment near Milawa.

Mr Conroy, spokesman for the Meadow Creek Agricultural Community Action Group, said the government’s decision to fast-track the planning process was “really concerning”. “They’re trying to take our voice away,” he said. “These solar factories are going to be in our backyards. We’re going to have to deal with them. We’ll be fighting the fires. We’ll be dealing with the run-off, the degradation of the soil, the negative impacts on the local ­environment.

“Why should we not have an appropriate timeline and opportunities to appeal any planning application, when these mainly international renewable companies could be planning these projects for three or four years, with highly paid professional people?”

Wangaratta Mayor Dean Rees shared Mr Conroy’s concerns, saying he regretted having supported a 323ha at Glenrowan West, 30km from Meadow Creek. “The government is not listening,” he said. “The government want to meet their targets and they just don’t care.”

Premier Jacinta Allan said: “Communities who support the project, or may have issues with the project, will have absolutely every opportunity to raise those views.”