Paul Bibby
A group of Coorabell residents are fighting Byron Council’s plans for a solar farm at Myocum on the grounds that it will ruin the iconic views from the escarpment out over the hinterland.
Council is planning to build the 6.3-hectare farm next to the Myocum Resource Recovery Centre as part of its strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
It is hoping to commence construction of the 5 Megawatt, $12m farm in 2021.
At Council’s last full meeting five companies were shortlisted to undertake the design, constructions and maintenance of the facility, following an expression of interest process.
But Coolamon Scenic Dr resident Anthony Stante said Council needed to assess the impact on views from the escarpment before proceeding any further with the planning process.
‘I think the solar farm is a great idea but the wrong location,’ Mr Stante said.
‘This is isn’t about the views from any individual’s property, it’s about a vista which is an iconic part of the Byron shire, and the economic and scenic impact on that view.
Mr Stante said that, prior to proceeding with the expression of interest process, Council needed to commission a report into the visual impact.
‘It shouldn’t have gotten to this point,’ he said.
‘They should have spent $30,000 on a visual impact study before putting out to tender to do this work.
‘You need to have the right checks and balances in this place. They’ve gone too far down the track without doing all the necessary checks.’
In a report to last week’s sustainability and emissions reduction advisory committee, the senior project manager for the solar farm Andrew Swan said that detailed technical studies, including a glare and visual impact assessment, had commenced.
Mr Swan also listed seven different methods of community consultation which the Council had undertaken in relation to the project.
These included a site visit and a ‘Your Say’ page on council’s website.
‘Staff are continuing local community consultation to inform and engage local stakeholders about the project in parallel with the technical studies,’ Mr Swan said.
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