Article by Christine Middap, courtesy of The Australian
07.03.2025
NSW councils at the forefront of the renewable energy transition have laid bare serious planning failures and raised doubts that the promised riches will deliver long-term benefits to the very communities selected to power the nation.
In their submissions to a NSW parliamentary inquiry, local governments have revealed a chaotic process that benefits developers, many foreign-owned, over rural and regional communities struggling to cope with a barrage of wind and solar proposals, transmission towers and large battery systems.
Mid-Western Regional Council general manager Brad Cam said on Friday that the rollout of the Central-West Orana Rez, the most advanced of all Australia’s declared renewable energy zones, was an unfolding disaster.
“This whole Orana Rez is like a bullet train hurtling down the track and they haven’t realised there’s a cliff at the end, not a station. We’re getting closer and closer to that cliff,’’ he warned.
“We keep asking for it to just slow down so we can get some of the planning and logistics right, but it’s not happening that way.”
These experiences are at odds with state and federal government promises of a jobs and economic bonanza for the rural and regional communities forced to shoulder the transition away from fossil fuels to meet Australia’s commitment to net zero by 2050.
It comes as Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek this week cleared the decks ahead of the federal election, approving three controversial large-scale NSW wind farms, including two in the Central West Orana Rez.
While individual landholders can make good money leasing their land to wind and solar farms, and developers shower sweeteners on neighbours and community groups, some local governments warned that ratepayers would end up burdened with major disruption and long-term costs.
In the state’s southwest, Murrumbidgee Council said its experience with multiple state significant renewable projects left it convinced that these developments offered “no positive outcomes” for the region. “This situation has been created by the state and federal governments without them having any skin in the game or even any worthwhile recognition of their impacts,’’ the council said.
“There is yet to be any new critical infrastructure, new economic programs or access to the electricity generated in this area … This is especially difficult to accept given the subsidies paid to potential renewable energy developers.’’
A recent report by the conservative Institute of Public Affairs think tank found federal subsidies for the 50 largest wind farms – of which 70 per cent are fully or partially foreign owned – amounted to $1.04bn last year.
The Country Mayors Association said that the revenue generated by renewables projects was rarely held within the local economy.
“Consequently, the substantial revenues generated by solar farm activities are rarely spent locally and therefore are unlikely to contribute to the growth of the local economy in any long-term way,” it said.
The Mid-Western Regional Council, which takes in the wine-growing tourist hotspot of Mudgee, said the transition had to be better balanced in favour of regional economies, community wellbeing and rural identity.
The council is located in the heart of the Central West Orana REZ and said its community had faced significant challenges from “unplanned and unorganised” developments built concurrently and it was extremely concerned about the impact of another 30 major projects in the pipeline.
Mr Cam said more than 90 per cent of the 800-strong temporary workforce required to build two solar farms were from outside the region, increasing pressure on housing stocks and contributing to a 19 per cent surge in rents.
Medical services were stretched, local families were displaced as landlords cashed in on short-term workers, and tourist accommodation was “continuously exhausted by workers with lower disposable income than traditional tourists”.
Small towns particularly felt the strain, he said, citing the old gold rush town of Gulgong, 30 minutes’ drive north of Mudgee, which has two large solar farms north of the village.
The town has natural growth but the surge in workers saw rents spike 31 per cent to $550 in two years and median house prices shoot up 27.8 per cent to $597,000.
He said a 1200-bed workers camp was being built 25km from Gulgong to ease local pressures but that had also met fierce community opposition.
“We keep asking where the water is coming from, how will waste and traffic be dealt with … we’re asking questions and at this point not getting all of the answers,” Mr Cam said.
The region has heavily invested in tourism over the past 10 years but the council is worried this cornerstone industry could take a hit as the REZ develops.
It wants a 5km virtual fence around local towns to stop encroachment from large-scale renewables projects that are seen to disrupt the area’s rural character.
“The protection of towns such as Gulgong is of particular importance as they rely heavily on their visual and cultural heritage to thrive economically and socially,” Mr Cam said.
He said efforts to encourage developers to consider local manufacturing had been met with “a poor response as all components are imported from international markets”.
Now concerns are growing over where it will end, with Mr Cam noting there is no strategic plan outlining how much quality agricultural land will go to large-scale renewables.
“Until there is a clear strategy that considers the balance between renewable energy and other land uses, the region risks becoming overcome by renewable projects,” he said.
Tamworth Regional Council noted that, contrary to the NSW government’s commitment to protect primary production, renewable projects are continually proposed and approved on prime agricultural land.
The Local Government Association of NSW, while recognising the opportunities for economic diversification, investment and jobs, called on state and federal governments to develop strategic planning to properly consider the impact on regional infrastructure and services, farmland and communities.
It also wants mapping to highlight no-go areas and echoed widespread concerns around gaps in fire safety planning and decommissioning and recycling issues.
It said the NSW government should reconsider the option of building transmission lines underground.
The NSW government recently updated its renewable energy planning guidelines to provide greater certainty and transparency, but some councils said they did not go far enough.
Others were more positive, with Hay Shire Council noting its sparse population and large-scale primary production made it well suited for energy development.
Good early engagement meant the region’s residents were largely supportive of the opportunities already flowing to the area but social licence remained an ongoing challenge, the council said.
The NSW government said in its submission that communities would share in a once-in-a-generation economic opportunity and plans were in place to ensure a co-ordinated program of work. It said up to $265m in developer contributions would be dedicated to communities and a new benefit-sharing guideline was expected to generate about $414m for REZ communities over 25 years.
“In addition local communities will benefit from improvements to roads, telecommunications and upgrades to local electricity networks.”
Murrumbidgee Council is sceptical.
“Council and the community has reached the conclusion that whilst we do not want these things in our area, if they are coming we will attempt to leverage the maximum benefit for our communities as possible. However, even in this endeavour we have been continually thwarted by the efforts of the NSW Planning and Environment Energy Assessments team, EnergyCo and the developers themselves,” its submission said.
