Michelle Slater
Latrobe City Council is backing a 70 megawatt solar farm being proposed on two sites on Tramway Road – subject to a list of conditions – in a submission put forward to Planning Minister Richard Wynne.
Latrobe City councillors endorsed a submission responding to a planning application lodged to the state government from developer ARP Australian Solar to build the Morwell Solar Farm.
Latrobe City has supported the planning application subject to conditions addressing concerns around landscaping, removing productive agricultural land, traffic impacts and site remediation.
The project includes building 230,000 solar tracking panels and an accompanying battery, enough to power 23,300 average Victorian homes a year, creating about 100 construction jobs.
ARP has stated the $102 million project would help Victoria meet its 50 per cent renewables targets by 2030, abating 146,500 tonnes per of CO2 annum when compared to fossil fuels.
The two sites on 436 and 545 Tramway Road in Hazelwood North are being used for grazing, with plans for grazing to continue if the project went ahead.
In its submission, Latrobe City planners were generally supportive of the proposal given its location next to existing electricity infrastructure and its “relatively low amenity impacts”.
Cr Kellie O’Callaghan said council officers and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning had engaged with the local community for feedback into the proposed development.
Cr O’Callaghan said council officers had responded to one concern over to native vegetation, and the department had received only one objection.
“Officers were looking for a clear intent to form the community so we could inform a submission. The submission is consistent with the expectation from the community,” Cr O’Callaghan said.
“There’s been nothing raised directly, or indirectly, with the community to give any indication we need to change the submission as presented by the officers.”
