Bendemeer Solar Farm

I am strongly concerned about this project going ahead in this location, it is good farming country and is home to many country people, who do not want to look at this ugly construction from their homes or driveway. The impact on all species of animals will be huge, especially clearing trees and ground cover from the sites. The traffic also is of huge concern with the narrow country road not being able to cope . Take your Solar somewhere else where people aren't affected by it and where the land is not suitable for farming.

As a landowner of a property that is in close proximity to the proposed Industrial Solar Project Site and Wind Project Site in Bendemeer I object this project. I am concerned about the impact on our native species of Bells Turtles and platypus in the Macdonald River and the impact of the water quality for stock and human contact - our children swimming and fishing in the river. The Local Land Care MacDonald Restoration group has involved the local school to plant and maintain ribbon gums along the river to create a corridor for koalas to move along between Bendemeer and Gunnedah. Koala population numbers could be adversely affected and the habitat restoration project compromised by the construction and ongoing impact to create and maintain this project. Bendemeer is a quiet rural area and I wish for it to remain that way for my future and for the future of my children and their families. Please find somewhere else for this project. Thank you.

Please respond to attachment

I am strongly objecting to this project on the grounds of its location firstly, it’s in beautiful farming country with amazing views over the McDonald River! It is causing insurmountable distress and worries for the families that live there,especially the families next to it who will have to look at it everyday of their lives! They bought their property’s thinking that this would be beautiful forever!!
Common sense says that this type of infrastructure should be in areas that has no other use and can’t be farmed!! Solar and wind are not the answer, just a waist of money!! Also there are concerns of all the trees and wildlife in that area , what is going to happen to all the animals!! No to clearing the trees!
We need more trees not clearing them!!
Also the roads in that area of Bendemeer are not in any way going to handle the trucks and machinery they will need!

I object to this development on the following basis:
Presently the DPE, EPA and all LGA's do not have a Waste Managemrnt Plan for the disposal of PV Solar panels. Until this absurd situation is satisfactorally resolved and an environmentally acceptable plan is legislated, I call on the NSW government to initiate a moratorium on the approval of all solar farms.

I am against this project for the following reasons
1. All solar projects need to be placed on arid, non agricultural farm land.
2. These projects are too Close to residents
3. Transgrid should have No say in project determinations, as they only lease the poles and wires. We still own them.
4. Lights on with No food makes no sense.
5. Prime Agricultural Land needs to be preserved for future generations. To Be able to live here at all we need grow a State Significant Amount of Food.
6. We are part of the Commonwealth of Australia and have a right to the quiet enjoyment of our land.

I would like to object to this project with the following questions I would like answered please.
We are direct Neighbours (boundary Neighbours) of the proposed solar farm and due to the fact that we don't currently have a residential dwelling on this property our Studies that have taken place have not been considered in this proposal, this is very disappointing. Our plan has always been to build our forever home on our farm and to move to Bendemeer to live with our kids. However since we have heard about the proposed solar farm we have put a hold on this as we didn't want to invest so much money to have our land value reduced so heavily.
We have suggested to the Project during our meetings as Neighbours if the proposed solar panels could be moved over the ridgeline out of our direct line of sight and back into the REZ area. However no effort of this proposal was considered by the project. We have been assured as neighbours that we will have screening of the solar panels on the western boundary however the EIS does not show this. At one of the most recent Neighbour consultation meetings we have then also been advised that no screening will occur on the Western Boundary. The Project team have consistently decreased their efforts towards the neighours. In relation to the screening of the solar panels, visual impact of the solar panels and closeness of the solar panels to our boundary, please see attached the Visual Impact Images which were completed for this project however not included in the EIS due to our property not meeting the baseline requirement of having a dwelling on the land. Our data for noise, visual and social impact have not been included into this EIS however the Town Hall, Churches and main road intersections of Bendemeer have been used as measurements.
On page 17 of the submission it shows the volume of native vegetation that will need to be cleared (PC10), how can clearing this volume of native vegetation be environmentally friendly or sustainable? Where will the animals that live and travel through this area of land go, will they be killed during the destruction of this land? The endangered pygmy possum and sugar gliders how will they be cared for and relocated? There are at least 2x pairs of Wedge Tailed Eagles which nest and live in the proposed habitat which is marked to be cleared, this won't be positive for this protected species. How many native, endangered species will be lost when their habitat is cleared, Koalas, Quolls, Wedge Tail Eagles? Unfortunately the EIS would have only collected data for native fauna and flora in particular areas, there would be so much of this land which would not have been studied, due to such a large area of land being proposed for clearing.
The water and erosion issues are said to be addressed with a plan, however there are no details of this plan and how these issues are going to be addressed. I am very concerned about the extra run off of water from the panels, with the land being cleared and little to no ground cover how is the soil going to hold the water without causing erosion, this land has had not improvements done to it for such a long time that the soil is literally sand. The extra water that will run off this property and travel through gullies and water courses into the MacDonald River causing water logging of land that normally wouldn't be water logged, this will intern effect negatively on the Wombat population which lives in the MacDonald River - River Banks, the platypus which has also just recently recovered since the drought and numerous other native animals. As the immediate western neighbours of this project we are very concerned of the extra water run off that clearing the land and the installation of not only the solar panels but the grid of roads that will be build will put on our farm. We run quite a productive sheep grazing production which will be significantly impacted by this project.
There have been a number of fires which have occurred in Bendemeer over the past 6-8 months. These have majority occurred due to the unproductive grasses which grow in this area.
An example of this occurring is in April this year 2023, where the area received over 90mm of rain 3 days before 2 fires broke out from an unknown ignition on the Oxley Highway, which spread very quickly due to the love grass (which stock do not eat and causes a considerable fire hazard). This fire was a prime example of why the ground work needs to be taken seriously regarding preparing the land sufficiently before any solar panel is erected. If the solar farm goes ahead, the area where the solar panels are to be placed needs spraying with chemicals to kill the invasive species of grass/ vegetation and a pasture put in to smother out what residue of these invasive species of grass are left. The fires that broke out on the late afternoon of early April after so much rain only 3 days before not only caused stress to the local community (there was a fire out of control) it burnt stock feed on the property where is originated, there were local fire trucks bogged and sadly the local brigade lost a new fire truck (burnt on the fire ground), and as a neighbouring land owner I needed to move stock to a safe location, we had in excess of 10 trucks/ vehicles in and out of our property and the brigade needed to gain access to the fire through our property and had to cut the fence to gain access.
The EIS advises that the number of trucks/ vehicles that will be required will be in excess of 200/ day on the local roads, the roads will not be able to stand up to this, which will result in the destruction of the roads and then extra delays due to the roads needing to be fixed on an ongoing basis. Who is required to cover the cost of this up grade, what extra delays will this create for the local community regarding travel and the increased number of vehicles on the local roads will also create an increased risk of accidents. Turning trucks on an already narrow road at 100km/hr will be very dangerous.
The stress this proposed project has had to our family has been huge, my husband and I work, we have 3 young children and properties at Bendemeer which we run as a productive sheep grazing business. We now have to try to work out what we can do to protect ourselves with a solar farm going next door, the Project team only want to hear what a great job they are doing trying to get this project over the line - they are not listening at all to what concerns we have or how they can assist us with a compromise. We have been told that the community engagement and consultation has been great, no it hasn't. The Project team have consistently told each of the close neighbours something different about what they can offer and what they hope to assist with. We have provided the project team with numerous suggestions for a compromise for the solar project, which have been squashed.
Unfortunately those individuals in the Bendemeer local area who are not directly visually or noise effected by the proposed project are being bought by the BREH (Bendemeer Renewable Energy Hub) by donations such as the Bendemeer Art Show. Those individuals on this committee think the project is great however it is only the financial contribution that is getting any backing.
The project team has been speaking with the closest neighbours on the Western end of the project regarding a proposed neighbour agreement however this isn't listed in the Proposal, I am concerned that this was all smoke and mirrors due to having no faith in the project team. We are consistently being let down by the Project team, with regards to incorrect information, the team not taking on board our concerns and questions etc.
This proposed project has created a huge rift in the tightknit community of Bendemeer, the stress and emotional turmoil it has created is serious, there are clubs that have had life members pushed out due to the proposed renewable energy. I am very concerned to think what mental health effect this will cause to the community if it does go ahead.
We have been clear from the start, that a compromise to push the Solar Panels back over the ridgeline back into the REZ is the sensible compromise, this keeps it out of the visual impact of the closest Neighbours and the community on the Western Boundary and will reduce (not minimize) but will reduce the noise impact the closest Neighbours and community will be subjected to.
We as a family love our farm at Bendemeer and don't want to lose the beautiful outlook we bought our farm for, for us now and our kids future in years to come. Please help us save our farm and the beautiful town of Bendemeer.
Please let me know if there are any further information I can provide as I would be only too happy to assist.
Many thanks
Bec

This project is ruining my life and the stress is tearing my family apart. the government agencies and private companies who are supporters of this project need to realise the mental strain that is being put on the neighbouring land holder’s because of the stress of the proposed project.
It’s causing altercations between neighbours and I’m concerned that the pressure might cause some one to be pushed to far and do something that is irreversible to themselves or other community members or even the proponents of the industrial facility that is being proposed.
The neighbour agreement that has been proposed is insignificant compared to the economic cost that the close neighbours will loose in the value of the properties because of this project. The proponents will argue that it is just. But it’s still not on the scale of the loss that the closest neighbours will economically lose if this project goes ahead.
It’s western and northern neighbours are zoned RU4 which is small block rural residential. Lifestyle blocks which have a significant realestate value more than a agricultural value which hasn’t been taken into account during the negotiation process.
The hydrology report leaves a big question mark on the under standing of the reporter of how the water flows through granite soil country. The concentration of the water run off from the panels will create even more underground streams and swamps than already exist impacting neighbouring land holder’s immensely and adding to the issues of erosion in the scoured gully’s to the north,west and south of the project creating more sediment build up at Bendemeer’s pump site near the bridge on the New England highway. There has been conceltation with the proponents over these water issues however they don’t think they need to address these concerns.
The increased fire issues that will come from the build up of love grass growing under the panels will have a significant increase in fuel load that is very hard to control with sheep grazing because they don’t eat love grass. Cattle will eat it when very hungry however cattle can’t graze under the panels.
This risk was proven in April when a fire ripped through the front of riverside (the property that is proposed for this development) only 3 days after 90 millimetres of rain. The fuel for fire that love grass creates is significant. This risk can be minimised with 5 years of control measures to promote other grasses growing but it will be a big issue with the time line that they want to do this in. This opinion comes from someone with over 20 years of RFS experience and proven pasture improvement experience.
This project is in the wrong place there’s plenty of other parcels of land that would be much better suited and further away from built up areas that would create much less conflict in a community than where this is proposed. It’s the wrong project in the wrong place. These projects need to be built in the right place not only for success of the project but also for the good of the surrounding community which is more than 70% against this project on the proposed site. Not nessaceraley against the idea of the solar farm. Move it back to the the rez line and everyone can get on with life with little disruption to normal farming life.
I thank you for taking the time to read this submission.

This submission is for and on behalf of the Save Our Scenery Bendemeer Action Group who represent some those who stand to be most negatively impacted should the Bendemeer Solar Farm be approved.

I HAVE JUST SPENT SO MUCH TIME TYPING IN A SUBMISSION I WAS ABOUT TO HIT SAVE SUBMIT BUT CHOSE FIRST TO UNTICK THE NOTIFICATIONS BUTTON BECAUSE I CANNOT TAKE THIS ANYMORE AND IT CAME UP I WAS OUT OF TIME THE PROGRAMME ENDED AND I LOST MY ENTIRE ALMOST 10,000 WORD SUBMISSION - I AM BEYOND UPSET AND DISTRESSED AND I FEEL PUSHED TO THE BRINK AS MUST START ALL OVER AGAIN BUT WILL NOT DO AS GOOD A JOB AS THE FIRST TIME AS I AM ABSOLUTELY EXHAUSTED. THIS PROCESS HAS BEEN MADE AS DIFFICULT AS POSSIBLE YET THE PROPONENT HAS ENDLESS RESOURCES ALLOWING REPORT AFTER REPORT AND EXPERT AFTER EXPERT YET WE HAVE 28 DAYS TO DECRY THE UPHEAVAL OF OUR LIVES.
This project is ruining my life and my home life and my property value and above all my ability to enjoy it. I live on my property not just in my home and this project will impact on my views with its ugliness spread across the landscape, it will impact on my quiet enjoyment of my property as the noise is 24/7 and I can hear a pin drop across the hills and sleep with windows open regardless of the subzero temperatures Bendemeer experiences. I live on my acreage and the views matter from wherever I walk not just the home. For experts to determine the only impact is from the home is to totally miss the point of living in the country and having acreage it shows no social licence or care for the community. The company Metis/Athena is based in Singapore therefore all profits will go back overseas. The project should not proceed because in the first instance it does not adhere at all to the NSW Govt Large Scale Solar Guidelines ie In mountain landscape, on top of village approx 1km proponents assessment is incorrect as boundary is on the east of the New England Highway and there are homes there also, bushfire prone land, near waterway (town water source), will impact many and hasn't been placed in an area far from a large community instead on top of with large impacts on many people. Impacts to native grasslands and woodlands. Community division sown by proponent offering funds only accepted by supporters with no thought of negative impacts on families, the landscape and environment or the future when half a million solar panels and equipment including a BESS that will cover approx 8 acres will need to be decommissioned. Half a million in capital expenditure for equipment purchased overseas as coming in through our ports further equipment and employees coming from further afield with little if any benefit to Bendemeer who will bare the brunt of this unsuitable project on high rainfall agricultural land. The land will not be farmed as could be without the solar panels up to 4.2m high shading the land where temperatures fall to negative 13 degrees with negative 11 only a few weeks ago, ground cover does not grow on south side of house during winter. Bendemeer sits in the BOM Northern Tableland not the North West Slopes and Plains as does Tamworth totally different environments Bendemeer is on average 6 degrees colder than Tamworth with large frosts starting from ANZAC Day generally and fires heating homes for over 6 months of the year and aircons not adequate for the very cold temperatures let alone people cannot afford to run them and would otherwise freeze to death due to unaffordable power prices that this solar complex will not help as the energy to be generated is not helping Bendemeer directly. Company says will power 74,000 homes but this is untrue as solar is not 24/7 energy and the battery will not either. There are not the jobs the company says there are otherwise why would they not have told us? Claims of 15-35 full time yet never have they said what roles - how can they do an EIS that covers everything else but cannot give exact information on jobs to be available, what skills are required and even approx pay. The Company was not an exhibitor at the Tamworth Careers expo in May - why was that if they have hundreds of jobs on offer and all those full time ones this does not make sense. Apart from jobs for existing locals and a community benefit fund that will only continue to fund that few that support the project - what reasons are there for Bendemeer locals to support the project? The poorest of us can enjoy a view and the peace and quiet that our area offers but it is those same people that will be impacted if this goes ahead. The CBF should distribute the $50k/year to each Bendemeer household to pay their electricity bills - that would be fair, the only fair thing to do. Property prices will be impacted negatively as no one wants to live anywhere near these ugly industrial complexes - no home lifestyle magazine features such complexes when showing off a country home. Claims that tourists will be attracted to look at solar and wind and powerlines is an absolutely lies. The only thing we will become known for is the ugliness this project will force upon us and the comments from people asking how did they let this happen? The project will not even sit in an area of high solar - solar maps show we are average at best - how is this good enough reason to site it here? Why isn't such a project placed so as to deliver the best possible outcome? Placing this project on the hills makes it far more visible than on the flat in a flat landscape. This project is unwanted and is only being put where it is because of a landholder from Sydney who couldn't care less about the landscape and won't be affected and the proximity to a powerline. This cannot be allowed to go ahead it is environmental vandalism. If you must build this project surely it must at least adhere to the NSW Govts own guidelines for a start. There is NOT ONE solar project of this scale sited as close to a village as this one nor it the a solar project located in the mountains. This project has destroyed friendship and if it is approved it will continue to be the source of division where previously there was not - this project has NO SOCIAL LICENCE and it should not be allowed to proceed. There also approx 12 lightning masts to be erected on a bushfire prone site that was almost burned out in April 2023 reports can be found online. If the project does have a fire won't the whole village be evacuated due to the fact is sits so close to our homes? This is unacceptable. Is the overseas mining and manufacturing used in the production of the items to be shipped in for this project using child or forced labour? Were the practices of the manufacturers as environmentally responsible as those used in Australia? I believe the items will be manufactured possibly in China or another foreign company so the emissions getting them made overseas and transported to Australia then by road to Bendemeer via the New England Highway our only road in and out would be astronomical. The CUMULATIVE IMPACTS of all the project for us wind, solar, powerlines and all those surround our area and all having to travel through Bendemeer is unbelievably unfair and irresponsible - we may be few in number but that doesn't mean we matter less. We sit lightly on the land with small footprints it is our city cousins who cause environmental issues yet we are expected to be quiet and pay the price - no thank you! I do not want this project in our beautiful area it has already created enough damage and division and there hasn't even been a shovel in the ground.

I support the Bendemeer Solar Farm because I believe it will bring great opportunities to the area and make jobs that encourage our younger generations remain in country NSW. I am also in support because it will provide more sustainable energy solutions for the future.

This town (a majority of which) does not give any community license for this construction to go ahead. The bribe money (Community Fund) is only going to benefit a very small minority who already get enough government funds to operate.
NOT TRUE statements on the EIS
Residents not concerned about overseas owners-yes we are and why can they turn our village into an industrial site.
They state no airstrips-one two km from solar used for fertilizer and spraying of properties in this area.
Got our temperatures wrong-this year has been mild 34 C to -10.
Longest wait expected at intersection of NE and Oxley Hwys is 2.3 seconds-I would like to see a semi let alone an OSOM truck take that corner in that time -would be newsworthy.
They say they will employ Bendemeer residents then later say 95% will come from Armidale and Tamworth. Anyone here who wants a job is already working.
Community has a desire for renewable energy -if true every house would be covered with panels.
Say Bendemeer will benefit-only one benefitting will be pub with beds, the absentee landowner and a very small group who will get the community funds.
Dwellings further away than 1.5km will not be able to see panels-dwellings over 2km will be able to see them.
They said Bendemeer starting to die off-how is it that you cannot get a rental here and whenever a house comes on the market it is sold straight away.
"Tightknit community that are always willing to help each other"-split town in half, neighbours not talking,businesses being avoided because of the stance they are taking, people choosing to not attend local events just like what is happening now at Nundle
Gave a donation to campdraft and rodeo days-this was refused as volunteers and other donors were going to pull out and these two events would have been cancelled.
Said the community benefit fund would compensate residents for'perceived'loss of property value -this money is not going to everyone in the village. They would have to give each landowner tens of thousands to cover our losses.
Participants were not concerned about visual impact-untrue, how come two families across from the site have now moved away.This is going to be built within one km from edge of town-we are all deeply concerned.
They talk about 'host landowners'there is only one host landowner who lives elsewhere. No wonder he is not concerned.
Stated they saw the grey headed flying foxes but also stated they haven't been in the area for 10years. What on earth did they base this on. These colonies of flying fox come to Bendemeer every year. This area is a nursery for them. They come EVERY summer, have their babies,then leave before winter EVERY year.
They did a letter drop-untrue. Firstly,there are no letter boxes in this village.You have to go to the local petrol station to pick up mail. I own a post office box there and nothing appeared there about this industrial development.
Newsletters sent out-untrue. They would have only been able to send newsletters if they obtained our email address.None in mail box.
Stakeholder engagement -with only 50 from Bendemeer(pop.486)filling in their survey, they decided 62%were supportive ie 31people out of 50 which is less than 7%of our population. 97% (of 50 is 48 people) knew about this industry coming to town. It is obvious the people who did the survey knew about what is coming which doesn't mean everyone else knew.
They said a trend in area of drop in population -then how come you cannot find rentals here.
They will maintain 100mm of grass under panels-how do you train sheep to do this.Not achievable.
Report found low fertile soil-then how will construction take $249,000 out of agricultural economy -not so bad soil afterall.
Erosion-they stated it is premature to work out erosion control-if not now then when. This is after all the EIS.
No sightings of koalas-they only looked autumn and winter. Everyone in Bendemeer know we have koalas plus the trees they are clearing are koala habitat.
FLORA and FAUNA
This will affect native and European bees as the trees they are taking out (tree count missing by the way) are high nectar and pollen producers
How green is this-killing 600ha of trees which sequester carbon
Grey headed flying fox eats nectar and flowers of these trees
No assessment if bird life done. Willy wagtails and peewees fight their reflection in these panels.There is an endangered species of bird in Bendemeer which is found in wooded Grasslands-Diamond Firetail-which I have seen and is documented by Tamworth Bird Watchers
Does the government really think it is ok to kill flora and fauna to help 'green' Australia
They are going to kill WhiteBox, Yellow box and Blakely's Red Gum which are on the critically endangered list.There own study said they are going to cause "a serious and irreversible impact to BoxGum Woodland"
They are leaving a corridor of trees from the river to the BESS. Why? So they can get zapped.
NO COMMUNITY ACCEPTANCE
Community consultation-I only knew of two pop up sessions which I was told about by neighbour.
First meeting people asked questions they couldn't answer. Saying people support this project is quite a statement. People have been keeping away from them. They say millions of dollars are going into this communities households but don't explain where they plucked these figures from (can I have my share now so I can afford to leave). The landowner of this industrial area is not part of this community. He lives away from here and is going to cash in on this villages misfortune. This site is going to be less than 1km from our village. 'Develop a sense of local ownership' -laughable as tearing the community apart. They have NO POSITIVE IMAGE here and NO SOCIAL LICENCE. This Singapore owned company is going to rape and destroy our landscape and take their profits overseas. They say they are not looking at Societal Risk re Hazards around this site because our population is so small. Don't the people of Bendemeer matter. The NMC batteries they will be using have a higher risk for fire. If the BESS catches on fire it will release carbon dioxide,carbon monoxide and fluorine gasses which will cause our village to be evacuated. "Impacts will generally be positive through capital investment" are they saying if they pay us off that we will accept them. Only groups in town who like this industry coming are the small group who think they will receive some funds -other groups consider it dirty money.
CONSTRUCTION
Workers start arriving from 6am and their day finishes 6pm. Since when was this considered normal. In town construction is 7am to 4pm.
Say they are going to plant trees so you cannot see construction from road or neighbouring properties -should have started 20years ago. How ignorant are they? People who live across the road from the construction were not assessed for noise impact because their house is built 25mtres from the road. Apparently the noise won't travel this distance. As if. More likely these people would be impacted the most. They are using on site gravel and sand which will be mined out if the MacDonald River which is our town water and also Manilla's town water. Also water for farms downstream.They say the noise they will be making is rural, since when do cattle, trees and sheep drive metal into the landscape. Why do they need to cross the MacDonald River when solar panels are going to be on the northern side. They say they are going to use the 2004 guide to Manage Urban Stormwater. This is not good enough. Granite soils are prone to erosion. How can some paper written in 2004 for building in a town be adequate. It is stated in the SEARS that solar infrastructure should not be on land subject to fires. This property was only a few hundred metres from the 2019 Moonbi Complex fire edge and this year there was a fire on the northern boundary next to where the BESS will be. Only for the work of the firies that this fire did not wipe out this property.
VISUAL
This project will impact on our visual amenity and will be seen from both highways. They say low impact for 25dwellings but these people consider it a major impact especially when they try to sell. The night lighting of this area will also impact in this village. There is a very large moth that hatches each summer here and these night lighting of this site will impact on their life span and breeding.
ECONOMIC
The local pub will only benefit if there are FIFO workers. Host owner lives away from here and doesn't add to the villages economy. They will take workers away from businesses in Tamworth and Armidale as unemployment rate has dropped. This will make it hard for local businesses to fill jobs. Host landowner shouldn't be worried about commodities prices as he leases his property to someone who runs cattle in it. Adjacent landowners consider the project will impact on them.
HAZARDS
Known fire area. Granite soil attracts lightning strikes. They said BESS can explode with a lightening strike. People who live near the project have water tanks on their houses for their water supply. The dust from construction will impact their drinking water
CUMULATIVE EFFECTS FROM CONSTRUCTION
They only counted the Bendemeer solar and wind and Thunderbolt Wind. Conveniently forgot Winterbourne Wind and Ruby Hills Wind and all construction north of Bendemeer. Our highway will be clogged up with non stop trucks and mega trucks holding up people going to work, appointments and emergency vehicles.They say 120 per day X 6 days a week with 1 year of construction -37,440. Add to this Winterbourne and Ruby Hills -724,179. That is over three quarters of a million vehicles going past Bendemeer in one year. That is only taking into account three construction sites.
How 'green' is this then. All the diesel, dirt, manufacturing, rare minerals using child labour and stress caused.





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I strongly object to the Bendemeer Solar farm.I am a land owner at Bendemeer and my property is located in a very close proximity to the solar development project. There are a number of reasons for my objection.

Firstly, the solar farm is located too close to the township of Bendemeer. The residents of Bendemeer have chosen to live in the town for the peaceful environment and beautiful quiet surroundings. The project is already dividing the town community and contributing many negative concerns. The proposed solar farm will be located too close to a main river which is also the towns' main drinking supply, potentially affecting the habitat and survival of many wildlife animals including recently introduced Bell turtles and platypus. Wildlife such as koalas and bats will become displaced as land is cleared for the solar farm site.

Secondly, the amount of traffic will increase dramatically as the solar farm begins construction, and will be located across the road from my property's front gate. The Oxley Highway is already a busy road, and turning in from the New England Highway will cause considerable dangerous conditions for motorists and the many truck drivers.

Thirdly, property owners that adjoin the solar farm project are to be compensated, however how is that fair to other close neighbours who have to look at the ugly solar panel filled paddocks? The owner of the property whereby the solar farm will be developed does NOT even live on the property, therefore he suffers no impacts at all, gains financially whilst upsetting most residents who live in the town fulltime.

Fourthly, the solar panels are ugly and an absolute eye sore, and will contribute to an increase in temperature. The constant loud humming sound the solar panels will emit will be an environmental hazard to local residents. When the life of the solar panels is complete what happens to them? Will they sit and create a permanent hazard? Will they cause an environmental hazard as unnecessary land fill?

My property was purchased in 2017 using superannuation that I have worked hard for all our lives. I plan to build my retirement home in the near future on the property. However, my plans and financial security is now at great risk as real estate prices will decline dramatically once the solar farm project is given approval. Why should I be penalised for others to gain financially ? I would never have purchased my property if I had an idea of a proposed solar farm development. I do NOT want to live opposite a solar farm sit inside and outside my home looking at paddocks full of ugly hot glaring solar panels. I do not want to risk my life travelling on the road filled with a huge increase in traffic and trucks being a potential danger to my life.

In conclusion, Bendemeer is NOT suitable as a solar farm location in the current exhibition. These solar farm companies need to purchase their own land for projects which do not hinder surrounding local residents or cause damage and risk to the public roads and wildlife living in the area. The owners need to STOP cause a divide in the communities and compensate or buy off some residents to keep their mouths shut, whilst causing dispute with other neighbour who have nothing to gain from the proposed solar farm development.

Good for economy, environment and future of a sustainable Australia

There are multiple reasons why I support the project;
1. With the imminent closure of more coal fired power stations, something has to be done to make up the electricity short falls that will ensue. Electricity shortfalls will most definately impact households as well as businesses. Renewable Energy Technology is well advanced and provides the best solution in a time frame that is critical to maintaining uninterrupted supply.
2. It will provide opportunity for local businesses to assist through building and ongoing maintenance of the projects

I support renewable energy project in the New England REZ, in particular the Bendemeer solar farm. I think it is important for the growth of the area, jobs opportunities and positive economic and environmental flow on effects the project offers.

The Bendemeer solar farm is cited close to large capacity transmission assets that allow the connection of renewable energy generators. The project is reasonably low impact and will have a maximum height of c.2 metres, no noise issues, and Limited glint and glare.

I am personally in favour of this project. Its important because it will be a significant renewable asset of which we need more , to help reverse the already showing signs of climate change and the affect its having. Its also a significant project in terms of local economic benefit. It will create jobs, put workers into accommodation, fill cafe's and pubs, and potentially fill local schools with new families all of which are important in terms of preserving dwindling rural communities. We have an opposition govt who are opposed to renewable assets, the local member who owns land in the area and has raised an army of people personally apposed to renewables in general and also this project. Whilst the scale of these projects can be seen to have an impact on visual appeal, the upside to them far outweighs the negatives in terms of what these projects can produce, sustain and support. I grew up in a community that now has many large scale renewable assets and whilst initially there was a divide, the impact that they have had is again minimal and now provides employment, opportunity and economic support. I support this project and future renewable projects of this nature.

The project is too close to the township of Bendemeer. Other towns have buffer zones but Bendemeer does not.
The project is too close to the Macdonald river and any runoff from cleaning the panels would end up in the river.
There has been no consultation from government departments. We have only heard from spokespersons from multinational companies who don't live here and would not be affected by the large scale industry that is going to be plonked in our beautiful back yard.

Based on past experience building a similar project in the region I have experienced firsthand that the proposed development has great opportunity for fostering local business growth demonstrating dedication to the local communities while prioritizing the engagement of local enterprises whenever feasible. Furthermore, the solar project initiative is poised to inject substantial capital into the region, stemming from both construction and operational phases. These financial inflows will extend to businesses, landowners, and the workforce.