Solar developer says renewables can co-exist with agriculture

Quite often the debate has come back to whether the land should be used for agricultural purposes or whether it should be used for creating renewable energy.

Steve Phillips, the operator of a small company that sources land for solar farms, including land around North East Victoria and Southern NSW, said in Australia there was enough space to use land for agriculture and for renewable energy.

"The amount of land that would be taken up by renewable energy, even if we went to 100 per cent renewable energy, would be minuscule," he said.

"If we do go to 100 per cent renewable energy over the next few decades, the amount of land used by solar farms and wind farms is tiny compared to the amount of arable land in Australia."

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But farmer near Culcairn Sharon Feuerherdt said though Australia had a big land mass, not all of it could be used for agriculture.

"I think there's a serious underestimation of the amount of croppable land," she said.

Mrs Feuerherdt's land borders a 400MW solar farm development site, which is one of four potential or approved solar farm sites in the areas between Jindera and Culcairn.

"The four that are going to be here are just way too big for the area," she said.

"They're not contemplating the value of this area.

"We saw through the recent drought we were sending so much hay up north and that's all from cropping, there was no pasture on the ground."

Mr Phillips too said high value agricultural land needed to be kept for agricultural purposes, and various government restrictions prohibited solar developments on agricultural land.

"High productivity farmland is not meant to be used for solar farm development, so we do prefer lower productive ground, less productive land," he said.

But Mrs Feuerherdt said there needed to be a better ratings system for the value of agricultural land than the current government classification.

Mr Phillips also said rent for solar farms could be a source of reliable income for farmers during poor seasons, but Mrs Feuerherdt said solar developments would be better placed in areas with more drought.

"Put it out in marginal areas where they do need that extra income, not here," she said.

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