The Hon. Wendy Lovell, Liberal Member for Northern Victoria, Media Release, 24 October 2024

Liberal Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell has called for a stop to the planned installation of a solar farm on prime agricultural land in central Victoria.

The proposed Cooba Solar Project will cover a massive 665 hectares of some of the best wine country in Victoria with 740,000 solar panels and 300 batteries the size of shipping containers.

Ms Lovell spoke in parliament to ask the Minister for Planning to reject an application for a permit to build the Cooba Solar Project in its proposed location near Colbinabbin.

There are over 30 wineries along the Heathcote-Rochester Road that bring a constant stream of tourists to the area looking to sample local wines while enjoying beautiful views from the eastern slope of the Mount Camel range.

But if the Allan Labor Government approves this giant solar farm, the beautiful scenery will be ruined for visitors to the local wineries.

The area is prime agricultural land, with high-quality soil that is particularly suited to grape-growing in the Heathcote Wine Geographical Indication.

The Victorian Government’s own planning guide states that a “solar energy facility should not lead to…the loss of productive, state-significant agricultural land.”

In particular, the guide says careful consideration should be given if a solar farm will mean the loss of a productive site that “has high-quality soils, particularly soils that are niche to a type of crop”.

The proposed Cooba Solar Project will take top-quality grape-growing land out of production, against Victoria’s planning guidelines.

A recent petition to the Victorian parliament garnered 1,362 signatures against the solar facility, and Campaspe Shire Council is opposed to the project going ahead in this location.

Comments attributable to Liberal Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell:

“Community support and a social license are essential for an efficient and smooth energy transition. The rollout of new energy installations must be sensitive to existing uses of the land where they hope to build, and respectful of community concerns.”

“Vintners, farmers, and local residents are not against renewables, but all agree that prime agricultural land in the popular tourist area of the Heathcote wine region is not the right location for a massive solar farm.”

“The only people who think this is an appropriate spot for a solar energy facility is the Allan Labor Government because they care more about their ideological obsessions than the livelihoods of regional Victorians.”