Although the land is owned by Wodonga Council, it is situated within the Indigo Council boundary north of the Hume Freeway.

Indigo Council has released the plans for public comments or objections before it can award a planning permit.

Wodonga Solar Farm Pty Ltd has applied to develop a 50-megawatt solar farm at  Lady Franklin Road, two kilometres north east of the Barnawartha township and 20 kilometres south west of Wodonga.

The application stated the land is now used for “small-scale grazing”.

“The aim for this system is to efficiently use the available land to generate the most amount of power possible,” it stated.  

The 158,000 solar panels would have a maximum power output of 370 watts.

“Panels would be installed on a single axis tracking system to follow the sun as it rises in the east and sets in the west. There is 120 degrees of rotation of the trackers,” the application stated.

The company also revealed it would remove what it called “scattered patches and individual native vegetation” from the land to accommodate solar panels, but replant indigenous native species within a five-metre wide strip surrounding the property, along with 1.8-metre high security fencing.

The solar farm was reported in The Border Mail in August and the company has conducted consultation with neighbours and other agencies.

North East Catchment Management Authority indicated it did not object to the proposal.

The planning application included a construction timeline of 12 to 14 months, which was planned to occur between October 2018 and December 2019.

But Indigo Council has stated a decision will not be made before the public comment period ends on October 30.