A 5MW solar farm proposed for Myocum, located near the Byron Resource Recovery Centre, poses a ‘high degree of risk’, and could jeopardise funding for other large Council infrastructure projects, according to a staff report, to be tabled at this Thursday’s meeting.
The Council project is part of its strategy to achieve a Net Zero Emissions target by 2025, along with the 0.5MW Bioenergy Facility.
So far, ‘Council has invested $656,300 in actual and committed costs in the feasibility of the Dingo Lane Solar Farm overall’, says the report.
Council expects that it will need to borrow the full $12m to fund the project, which would ‘increase debt level by 20 per cent overall and by 57 per cent in the General Fund immediately’.
Projects at risk
Projects identified at risk of losing funding to the solar project include Byron Bay Bypass additional funding ($1.75m), Bio Energy – assuming no grant funding ($12m), Mullumbimby Hospital – post-remediation (unknown), Byron Bay Hospital ($3.5m), Byron Bay Drainage Strategy – assuming grant funding ($5m), Sandhills Estate – assuming grant funding ($3.5m), Byron Bay Town Centre Masterplan, Rail Corridor – Reinstatement of light rail, Coastal Protection Works, Vallances Road Sustainability Centre, Lot 22 Mullumbimby Development, Byron Bay Memorial Pool, Relocation and renewal of Bayshore Drive Depot.
The $M12 cost would pay the extra cost for Council to move to buying Green energy for over 50 years. Council presently buys greenhouse polluting coal and gas produced energy and while they are debating the next electricity purchase contract today, the GM informs me that they are not moving to buy Green energy , but are basically relying on tradable carbon credits from such nonsense as the proposed Methane producing Bio Energy Plant and solar projects to offset their pollution to achieve “net zero emissions” (while not counting their actual increase of emissions from bulldozing forest, landfill sent to Qld, or contractors equiptment or materials etc etc.) Can someone please tell them they are contributing to the Main Beach erosion and out of control bush fires.