Muswellbrook Solar Farm

I object to this solar farm because it takes 481.9ha of valuable agricultural land out of production, the continued and combined removal of this irreplaceable land is an enormous food security threat to all Australians. Food production is of higher hierarchical import than energy supply but especially unreliable and expensive supply.
This project is also unacceptable because it drastically increases the likelihood of the extinction of the Grey- headed flying fox in this area which once gone is gone forever.
Please do not approve this project, the impacts are too severe and long lasting.

MUSWELLBROOK EGW - IT IS NOT A FARM - not by design nor by nature.
NSW roadmap refers to these as EGW and cannot this project cannot be allowed to pose as a farm.

My objections to the Muswellbrook solar EGW are multiple:-
The solar farm fails the scrutiny of a legitimate and genuine solution to the effective provision of renewable energy to consumers. Nowhere is either the demand for or the consumption of resources held accountable in terms of the claims in relation to achieving the magical ”NET ZERO” EVER!
Failures to collate the actual statistics, means that no adequate analysis of such data, relevant to a marginal analysis can be presented in defence of such a proposal.
To be effective all factors must be included from every aspect of all of the processes must be included, especially exploration for site selection, actual testing for resource quality and quality. All aspects of determining the final site; testing and selecting appropriate mineral resources; cutting into the ground with appropriate machinery together with testing for quality and all supervisory activity; transportation and manufacturing of components; freight and shipping; labour complete with Australian Anti-slavery compliance; further freight, shipping and transportation; road works, trucking of gravel and further earthworks required. All labour and construction equipment together with components of fixtures; waste assessment, sorting and disposal; with- including and not excluding the components of transmission to consumers as well as reserve collection and storage of back up/reserves to honour reliable supply – whatever that may be
What we notice is that either scenario is apparent :-
1.-Understating requirements to achieve a pass from the approvals processes- such as they are – by submitting applications that once approved will need to reapply for extensions to already approved “base” projects because of inadequately honest marginal analysis processes
OR
2. Overstating the breadth and scope of the project to enable a “good will” reduction in size and capacity in a bid to lay a claim for having “responded to community concerns” still without appropriate marginal analysis to allow for adequate scrutiny of the whole set of data to which I previously referred.

There is no excuse for covering a landscape with reflecting apparatus across a landscape without accounting for the displacement of all living creatures – inclusive of humankind. There is no excuse for .destroying vital habitat

Neither is there any excuse for debilitating the lands that have produced Nett Primary Production (NPP in $/ha) usurping that capacity with a production which is incapable of sustaining life forms.
There is no excuse for creating a heat island that has the capacity to destroy local and greater weather patterns and thereby disrupt the flow of streams and ultimately rivers.
There is no excuse for accepting any other form of mining (i.e. for rare earth minerals) when coal mining is deemed so unacceptable.
There is no excuse for accepting an application for a project that offers no upfront bond for its removal and the complete recovery and restitution of the land upon the end of its useful life.
There is no excuse for considering a project that has not established a significant independent testing regime of soils, air and water pre project and commitments for consistent and ongoing independent testing for the lifetime of the project and with adequate, appropriate strategies to cease operation, recovery and immediate decommissioning, in the event of unacceptable contamination.
This project fails on many scores including the cumulative impact of activity with transportation and road damage and from out of the Port of Newcastle and it can be neither accepted nor approved

Please see my attached objection to the project. I am prevented from providing an attachment.

I object because the whole concept of replacing energy-dense thermal power with industrial wind and solar, backed up by batteries, is completely counterproductive. The environmental cost of mining, transporting, refining and manufacturing the materials needed to build these things will cause more CO2/pollution/consumption than building new thermal power stations of whatever type. If the stated lofty 'greater good' aim is to save the planet and mankind, then this will only hasten the demise. Additionally, productive farmland is taken out of production which will lead to loss of food security. It is all a stupendously expensive, destructive and stupid plan.

I object to the Muswellbrook Solar Farm.

As well as only having an approximately 20% of nameplate efficiency, they are NOT "renewable (the sun is, not the solar panels or the associated infratructure) and they are NOT "green" (given the quantities of rare earth metals, metals, silica and more that has to be mined and transported) . Industrial solar only profits the developers.

Industrial solar plants are environmentally destructive and cover highly productive agricultural land. Our agricultural land is fundamental to our ability to feed our nation and covering them with so-called "renewables" is detrimental to that ability.

From a neigbour and community perspective, property values will be negatively affected. I am yet to find anyone who says they WANT or are even WILLING to buy a property neighbouring an industrial solar plant.

Should solar panels be damaged by, for example, hail or fire, they will release toxic fumes into the air and toxic chemicals will leach into the soil and eventually waterways. And with their limited lifespan and few options for recycling, will create a toxic waste burden.

The Government bodies that facilitate the destruction of the Australian environment by foreign companies which have no emotional ties to that environment should use their imaginations to try to understand the human toll that these solar factories impose on those that will be living next door to, over the road from and in close proximity to the solar facilities which comprise panels of steel and glass replacing pasture and trees and which will sterilise the land as steel and glass does not create any organic matter.

Those people will never get away from what has happened to the environment that they love and have looked after.

The emotional impact and anguish that these people will suffer does not seem to be of any importance to the powers that be. They are definitely not given any value by the foreign companies building the facilities.

Fire risk also must be taken into account as some RFS brigades will not fight fires on solar land as it is too easy to get trapped as the solar factories are surrounded by 8 foot high industrial fences.

Please find attached formal objection letter to the proposed Solar Farm development at Muswellbrook

• The importance of the ownership of our energy supply remaining in Australian Hands. The original owner of the proposed solar farm has sold on to a foreign entity (OX2). The head office of OX2 is in Sweden. Foreign ownership of Australian energy sources may place Australia in a vulnerable position should relationships with Sweden deteriorate. I would have thought it would be more important than ever to ensure that energy sources remain Australian owned
 
• Preservation of Agricultural Land: Australia only has a certain amount of high quality agricultural land and we need to protect it. Many areas in Australia are no longer suited to farming due to effects of ongoing drought. The area surrounding Muscle Creek (where the Muswellbrook solar farm is situated) is largely unaffected by drought and the farming land is still successfully producing agricultural crops and raising sheep and cattle.
 
• Bushfire risk: The bushfire emergencies last summer highlight the problems inherent in the installation of solar panels in rural/residential areas. It is difficult to fight a fire with the close placement of the solar panels. I refer to the link below on solar risk to fire.
 
https://apapl.com.au/mitigating-the-risks-of-fires-and-overheating-in-solar-facilities/

Many hectares of trees and old wood areas will be cleared for this project. Many homes for endangered species will be destroyed due to this.
Muswellbrook and the Muscle Creek area are known world wide for the habitat of many of bird species. How many will disappear due to this?

We live approximately 2km away from this development and have had spotted quolls in our backyard. These are endangered species. The person that has done the report for the environment is working for Esco pacific, now OX2.
Why isn’t there an independent source that does these reports?

Property values will drop due to the development.
At the moment the area is green and full of nature and wildlife. This will all disappear into an ocean of black.

Major issues with state water supply will happen when the area gets hit with major hailstorms or fire as glass fibres will end up in the HUNTER river system. The HUNTER river as we all know provides DRINKING WATER and farm water supply for many residential areas below Muswellbrook.
Horse industry and dairy farmers below Muswellbrook will have major problems if this would occur.

During construction there will be a massive increase in traffic. Where will this traffic be going as the only road in or out is already terrible and small. School bus is traveling along this road as well and will have increased risk of accidents. Many children use this services.

What will noise levels be during construction and later on operational level. Many transformers make noise. No doubt on the area being proposed here there will be a lot of noise. This will disturb more wildlife and quality of life for the local residents.

Devalued property prices will be a large effect on this area as many have invested large amounts of money and will now not be able to get the money back out and will be pushed into bankruptcy.

Biggest concern is the area not being suitable as vast amounts of dust affect the operations of solar. Being sold as self cleaning is a load of bull as everyone knows. Over the last 6 months we had around 5 days with substantial rain to be efficient to clean the panels.
Panels effective operating temperature is 25/30°. After that it looses efficiency. And often solar only has around 30% returns.
Temperature in our valley often goes well over this.

Enclosed letter with current Objections and concerns

I object to the use of valuable farming land to host solar or wind farms. The reasons for this are, the land is denuded of all grasses trees and general landscape to allow the steel posts to be driven into the ground. The animals and birds do not get a say as to what is happening to their habitat, and therefore perish or move away. This in itself is environmental vandalism... farmers are not allowed to damage the land to this extent, why are offshore companies allowed? Farming under the solar panels is an unproven science as yet and I note there are no farmers brave enough to farm breeding stock within the solar farms, I wonder why? What would be the outcome I wonder? Also what is the harm we are doing to ourselves by having these terribly ugly solar farms near homes and families. We do not know what the effects of these thing are, and when we do it will be too late.

481.9 ha of farming land removed from production for up to 30 plus years is a great loss to a needy world population for farming produce, What are we going to eat if our land is covered in solar panels? Solar farm developers are environmental vandals and are removing good farming land for over 30 yrs if not longer, Maybe indefinite due to contamination. no one knows what the long-term effect will be.

Remediation is another issue I have, the host landowner, should have the means in a trust fund, prior to commencement of construction, as does mining, to fully remediate the site after it has reached its life limit. Remediation does not include removing infrastructure below 30cm from the surface, ie they cut off the posts 30cm below ground and leave any cables and remaining posts in the ground...hardly remediation! Some of these companies have gone into liquidation prior to end of life for the solar farm so there is NO money for any remediation, if you can call the half baked removal of infrastructure remediation! Therefore , it would be the tax payer, rate payers who will have to remediate the site.... Not fair on the taxpayer, they have not been paid millions to host the solar farm, The host should pay and pay up front.

Significant trees eg Box gum and Hunter Eucalypt will be destroyed, along with Koala habitat, Flying fox, Quoll, Legless lizard, Honey eater, Cockatoo's to mention a few, will all suffer from the selfish greed of Humans not willing to compromise on Energy and companies, only too willing to make millions of Dollars from climate fanatics. Using slave labor to do so ...where are their morals? in the toilet with their care of the environment, flora and fauna.

Fire risk is also an issue for me, having lived in the country all my life I have experienced Bush fires and grass fires. They should not be welcomed or encouraged by anyone. Solar farms are only encouraging Fire... and fire fighters will not fight them due to the dangerous conditions, ie perimeter fencing, and solar panels. Developers say they will have sprinkler systems in place, good luck with sprinklers putting out such a fire.

Manufacture of the panels in China using Australian coal and slave labor, again where are these developers morals? they say they have good human rights policies; I have not seen a policy about Human rights from solar farm developers, despite asking for a copy.
Using Australian Coal and built with SLAVE Labor. Well done Australia! We can't use the coal here, but we can pay another country to use it with SLAVE LABOR.
Another factor here is, China can turn off our power anytime they like thereby disabling the whole country, very smart of them, BUT very stupid of us. They own our electricity grid!

Solar is weather dependent, and the battery storage required is not capable of fulfilling demands of society, let alone industry.
Minerals required to manufacture the components are still in the ground and still to be discovered in some cases, they also require mining to remove them for manufacture, some complain that mining is bad, BUT apparently not this mining!
It is also OK for children as young as 6 years old to die mining minerals for our so-called needs. Where are the Human Rights policies of these manufacturing companies?

Mining of Lithium is NOT green either, it is in fact environmentally bad, and also uses an incredible amount of water, which is then contaminated.

There is incredible toxic waste from the manufacture to the disassembly and removal of both solar and wind. Vast amounts of the material used in the farms is NOT recyclable, thus buried for further contamination of our land.

Save Our Woodlands object to solar farm developments because of their negative effects on the environment. Very large areas must be cleared of all vegetation to accommodate a solar farm, in a situation where we are rapidly losing our native vegetation a solar farm only exacerbates the problem.
The heat reflected from the solar farms has been known to cook birds in the air. We have already lost 50% of our bird-life since the 1950's do we want to keep doing this?
Solar farms are not renewable. They will last between 10-20 years then they become toxic waste. Has there been any thought about where these toxic panels will be recycled?
When a mine is built there is provision for the remediation of the mine site. Has there been provision for the remediation of this site or are we leaving yet another mess for our children and grandchildren?
Solar panels only produce electricity during a sunny day, where do we get power at night or during an over caste period? Solar and wind energy will not produce our base power load, so why are we wrecking the environment for something that will not fulfil our power needs?
In addition most of the solar panels coming in from China have been produced using slave labour which is directly in contravention of our laws against slavery.
Please consider these factors before you move on with the production of yet another toxic waste dump.

Muswellbrook Solar Farm
Application SSD-46543209
Objection letter attached.

Letter attached.

Pleases see the attachment.

Please refer to the attachment.

I object to this project because it is located on prime agricultural land and creates an increased fire and toxic smoke hazard risk should the panels catch on fire. To date there has been one fire at Suntop Solar Farm which was fortunately stopped before it got away - not by good management but by alert neighbours. There has also been one death at Wellington Solar farm when an unfortunate employee was killed by nitrogen leakage on top of a battery module. These massive Solar farms cause major environmental damage and could easily be replaced with small efficient nuclear facilities generating reliable 24 hour power.

September 15, 2023

Dear ESCO Group,

Re: Concerns Regarding Proposed Solar Farm near Muscle Creek - SSD-46543209

Please find this letter as our formal objection to the proposed development for the solar farm at Muscle Creek SSD-46543209. We are writing to express our profound concerns and anxiety/stress that has added to an increase in mental health issues regarding this development, which was discussed during your recent information sessions. As a long-time resident of the local area, we attended these sessions to gain a better understanding of the project's potential impact on our property and the surrounding environment.

Having lived in this area our entire life, we have worked tirelessly to fulfill the Australian dream of owning our own home and providing a stable life for our family. The prospect of a solar farm near our property has raised significant apprehensions, primarily related to the visual pollution impact that the solar panels may have on the picturesque views that we have cherished for years.

This proposed development of the solar farm is not only in close proximity to our home it is also within close proximity of at least 70 high quality highly sort after established rural residential sized lots. We have also been informed that real estate within close proximity of solar farms typically reduce property valuations by up to 20%. Given the substantial investment we have made in our property and the sentimental value it holds for our family, we are deeply concerned about the potential diminishment of its aesthetic appeal and, consequently, its market value. We believe it is only fair to explore the possibility of compensation or, in a more extreme scenario, the purchase of our property by ESCO Group if the solar farm project were to proceed.

Another concern that we have is with regards to the heat transmission from the solar panels. It has been indicated to us that areas within close proximity of solar farms can experience an increase in temperature by up to 5 degrees. This could have quite an impact on ours and our neighbours health. As avid gardeners and fruit and vegetable producers we are also concerned that our area could suffer considerable loss of vegetation and gardens.

With the removal of a number of trees and vegetation from the proposed site we are also concerned that this will significantly reduce the number of native habitat in the area. How will this be address? Will trees be replaced in the same area and maintained and how long will it take for them to be established to the point that they can house our native wildlife and protected species?

The information that we have received from you indicated that our land will also be directly impacted by additional/upgraded powerlines. The noise that comes from the existing powerlines can already be heard in our area, with an upgrade to cater for this type of development, we believe, will increase the noise level adding to our families ongoing concerns.

Our personal research has also raised significant concern for the visual glare from solar farms. With our house facing the direction of where the solar farm is proposed to be, we are quite concerns about the impact that the glare from the solar panels will have on our life as shift workers.

We are reaching out to you in the hope that ESCO Group may consider a dialogue to address our concerns and explore possible solutions that could mitigate the adverse effects on our property. It is not our intention to obstruct progress or development in our community, but rather to seek a fair and equitable resolution that takes into account the impact this project may have on local residents like us.

In addition to contacting ESCO Group, we also plan to engage with our local council, as well as federal and state ministers, to ensure that our concerns are heard and considered in the decision-making process. We firmly believe that open and constructive communication can lead to mutually beneficial outcomes.

We kindly request that ESCO Group respond to this letter at your earliest convenience to initiate a dialogue on this matter. We are open to discussing potential solutions and are willing to cooperate in finding a resolution that is fair and equitable for all parties involved if the solar farm development proceeds.

Thank you for your attention to this matter, and we look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,
Ryan & Suzanne Garbyal
51 Woodland Ridge Road
Muscle Creek 2333
0427 270 796 / 0419427630
[email protected] / [email protected]

As per the attached submission

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This poject is taking away prime farming land and the neighbouring farms