Greater Hume Shire Councillors voted on how to respond to a solar company's offer to form a Voluntary Planning Agreement (VPA) on developing a solar farm in the shire at yesterdays meeting.
Trina Solar want to build a 200 megawatt solar farm near Jindera, in Glenellen.
The company made an offer in March to enter into a VPA with Greater Hume Shire Council.
At last nights meeting Councillors voted to "advise Trina Solar that the 'offer' could form the basis of a draft VPA which would ultimately be signed", subject to public exhibition and permission from the Independent Planning Commission.
The motion was passed without discussion.
Previous development proposals for solar farms in the Greater Hume Shire have been met with concerns from local landholders, concerned about the loss of high quality agricultural land and fire risks.
The proposed Glenellen farm has generated 108 public submissions on the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment planning portal.
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In one submission, Sharon Brand said she was a neighboring residential land owner and that she objected to the proposal.
"This is prime agricultural land," she wrote.
"The value of our property will be dramatically reduced due to the scale of the project and the unsightly impact it will have on this beautiful part of country."
Another respondent, Lincoln Weidner who said he was from Jindera, said he supported the farm.
"It will provide sustainable clean energy from the sun whilst also providing crops and feed underneath the panels for sheep grazing," he said.
Trina Solar's Glenellen development proposal is one of four solar farm proposals the Greater Hume Shire has had in the last few years.
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Victoria Ellis
Victoria Ellis grew up on the Border and loves reporting for her home community. She is a University of Wollongong Journalism graduate. In 2018 Victoria was awarded the Bruce Gordon Scholarship for Journalism and completed a 10 week internship with WIN News Illawarra. In 2019 she was awarded The Border Mail's Cameron Thompson Scholarship, where she completed a three week internship, before taking up ongoing employment in 2021.
Victoria Ellis grew up on the Border and loves reporting for her home community. She is a University of Wollongong Journalism graduate. In 2018 Victoria was awarded the Bruce Gordon Scholarship for Journalism and completed a 10 week internship with WIN News Illawarra. In 2019 she was awarded The Border Mail's Cameron Thompson Scholarship, where she completed a three week internship, before taking up ongoing employment in 2021.
