November 28, 2024 • 15 mins
The picture perfect village of Mitchell's Flat is hardly what you'd describe as "nimby" territory, but locals can't see the sunny side of plans to put 170-Thousand solar panels onto prime farming land.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
iHeart Upper Hunter, so a lot of the things that
they're telling us this company are not exactly true. It's
really just to try and get the community members over
the line.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Hello, I'm Darren Katrubi. In this episode, yet another tale
of the small local community versus a big international company.
Imagine a picture perfect, quite Upper Hunter village and then
imagine the hectares of land required to sit one hundred
and seventy seven thousand solar panels. Mitchell's Flat is prime
(00:34):
agricultural land on the clean side of Singleton. It's home
to many viable farming enterprises. But local say a proposal
by Elgin Energy for a massive solar farm in their
backyard is wrong on so many levels, especially when there's
so much available brand land on the other side of town,
land that for many years has been used by the
(00:56):
mining industry and for related industrial purpose. As residents like
Nigel Corp So they know they're in for the fight
of their lives as Macquarie Street in Canberra remain hell
bent on signing off on renewable energy projects to replace
coal fired power.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
There's several issues that we have with this proposal. Firstly
and mainly that it's the actual location of it. We're
only ten kilometers east of Singleton in some really prime
agricultural land, and the eastern side of Singleton hasn't been
touched by any industry or mining, where the other side
(01:34):
of Singleton sort of houses a lot of the mines,
and if you know about the Hunter Valley, we're full
of mine sits up here, So it's very much untouched
out this side. So the location is a huge issue
for us, and also it goes along with it too
as the impacts on the environment here. We've got two
significant waterways that run through the property in question, along
(01:57):
with a myriad of different wildlife here, including spotted quals,
and we've got koalas on the edges of this property
and the water life in these creeks that we know of,
and also to a lot of the devaluation of the
properties next to surrounding this proposal, and really the actual
(02:20):
effectiveness of these solar plants is sort of becoming more
evident now that they're We keep being told that our
energy bills are going to be lower, and they're actually
going to be going up with these as they're they're
only an intermittent power source, which is concerning everybody here,
and also to the issue with these companies that are
(02:42):
coming in developing these sites have no responsibility at the
end of the life of the project like the mines.
The mines actually have to provide a bond and a
system in place to rehabilitate the land at the end
of the life of these projects, where these renewable energy
companies do not. So basically the end of the project,
(03:05):
it's up to the farmer to have made an agreement
with whoever owns the project to try and remediate the land. Now,
this project here at Mitchell's Flat, they're proposing one hundred
and seventy seven thousand solar panels for this project, and
the only thing that can be recycled on those is
the aluminium frames just about on these. So a lot
(03:28):
of the things that they're telling us this company are
not exactly true. It's really just to try and get
the community members over the line. So yeah, there's a
lot of issues with this proposal. You know, there's been
basically a lot of concerns about the blanket nature of
(03:52):
the state government's renewable energy zones which have been implemented
all through the Hunter Valley here with no community consultation,
so we really damn a voice here with these And
because anything over thirty million dollars in infrastructure, it then
becomes a state significant issue, so the local councils don't
(04:14):
have a say in it. It actually goes to the
Independent Planning Commission, so it's basically out of the council's
hands and everything. At the moment, all these renewable energy
projects are being rubber stamped and rushed through and you know,
we're just being blindsided by it.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
Did this might be even consult with you guys before
actually announcing the project or did they just go whack
here it is what we're planning to do.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
So we first found out about it when the company
advertised a community a meeting. No, well that it wasn't
actually a meeting. It was an information session at the
local library. And when we attended that, there was a
lot of angry people there and the consultancy company that
(05:06):
they have engaged, that Elgin Energy has engaged Irbus, really
had very little information that they could give us. Continue
to tell us that they were there to just take questions,
couldn't answer a lot of the questions that the community
members had, and to the point where they couldn't even
spell Mitchell's Flat correctly, So you know, it was very
(05:27):
very substandard the effort that they went to and just
basically couldn't answer a lot of the questions that we
had and we're just trying to sell the project to us.
So yeah, there's a lot of very very concerned and
cranky people out this way now because it seems to
have just been dropped on us.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
How many landowners is it going to impact on if
it did go ahead.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
There's about two hundred and forty two residents surrounding the
property in question. There's about sixty six f families and
these panels will be in the direct view of the
majority of these properties, and this is an area well
known for a lot of significant cultural sites, but that
(06:14):
doesn't seem to be an issue. They seem to get
in companies from outer area and have assessments done and
the Planning Commission seem to be able to still push
it through without any problems. So, you know, the whole
renewable energy projects that are going ahead now with the
(06:35):
aim of net zero, it's just being rushed through by
the new South Wales Labor government without much consideration to
the community. Members in these areas. It's very much like
we don't have a voice at.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
All, play Devil's advocate. Can can these gazillion solar panels
and the existing agriculture practices coexist in the.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
So well, we don't believe. So, you know, we were
sold sold the idea that everything will be fine because
you can graze sheep on this property once the solar
panels in. Firstly, this is not sheep country. If they
had any idea, they would know that. And secondly, now
from what they've found from other factories that there's now
(07:23):
interference from the animals that are trying to graze even
the sheep on the actual facilities themselves, to the point
now where we have to sign a stat deck when
we sell any livestock, and now the regulating body has
stated on that stat deck has any of our livestock
been in close proximity to either solar or wind farms
(07:45):
because they have such a concern for the risk of
contamination to the livestock and therefore going through the food chain.
So you know, the very fact that they've stated that
we've even got bigger concerns now about trying to graze animals,
and it would only be sheep. You know, we wouldn't
(08:07):
be able to graze cattle on these project sites. But
once again the state government and the Planning Commission of
I'll just say no, you can graze sheep on it.
That's fine, that's that problem solved. So with no real
insight into what goes on in a cultural sector, and
I think, you know, especially Singleton and the surrounding areas
(08:28):
has carried the load for the mining industry for so long.
It just seems that we're being bombarded now with these projects.
And one of the problems is is that with these
renewable projects, they can change hands five to six times
in their lives. So you know what's been happening in
other areas is that one company will get it to
(08:50):
an approval stage and then they will sell it. Another
company will then they will sell it, and each time
they're getting money, large sums of money each time it
changes and so you know, at the end of the life,
whatever promises have been made by the initial company, they're
long gone. So it's really concerning and it's not just
a Mitchell's Flat issue. It's an issue all around around
(09:12):
the state and the country.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Still to come. Singleton Mayor Sue More leads a council
revolt against the proposal from Elgin Energy.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
I heart Apper Hunter, I heart aper Hunter.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
I'm Darren Katrubi. Sometimes in the race to push renewables
over our traditional power options, the rights of a community
to be consulted can be pushed aside, and the voices
of the little guys like those living in Mitchell's Flat
are quickly dismissed. And that's exactly how Resident Nigel KRP feels.
Nigel is leading the Mitchell's Flat community campaign to have
(09:55):
Elgin Energy rethink its plan to build a one hundred
and seventy seven thousand old penel farm in his neck
of the Upper Hunter Woods. But he's far from a
winging nimbi.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
So for those that aren't familiar with Mitchell's Flat, what
are the sort of agricultural industries that are being produced
there at the moment in this in this prime country.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
Yeah, so there's everything from cattle and horses, and we've
got cropping throughout the area. Also there's types of accommodation
farm stays down the area. So you know, it's it's
it's something that you know, the people here are very
(10:37):
passionate about and they've obviously moved here for a reason
because it's quite it's untouched. But unfortunately now it just
seems that you know, any renewable energy company can come
in and get the green light from the state government.
And you know, the issue has now been raised in
State Parliament twice now in regards to Mitchell's flat itself
(11:01):
and the issue that we've got here. As I said,
it's not just here, it's everywhere that's happening. So you know,
what we're calling for is a moratorium on approvals until
there can be some sort of stricter regulations when it
comes to these foreign owned companies coming in and just
steamrolling these rural communities.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
So it has been mentioned in parliament, like you said,
and I assuming you guys have sent correspondents to the
responsible Minister, Will Scully, have you had any response from
the government that gives you any hope that anything other
than what you expect to happen will happen.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
No, we've had really good support from a few of
our local members and our council are very supportive of
our opposition, and our local federal member is just starting
to get on board, and we've had Tanya Mahalic raise
(12:03):
issue and ask questions in state Parliament to Penny Sharp
and we're sort of waiting on response from her. But yeah,
it's pretty hard to actually speak to the people who
are making these decisions on these projects because every time
you try and make contact with them, you get the
generic replies every time. So that's why we've been trying
(12:25):
to push million quite hard on our local members, the
Nationals and Liberals, and also labor understanding that it's a
labor policy to push these renewable projects through. So that's
providing its own issues in itself. But there is an
election coming up, and there's a lot of a lot
(12:47):
of cranky people out there who are opposing these projects,
so it's going to be very interesting coming up to
election time.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
Obviously, you know, individual families and property owners at Mitchell's
Flat Brightly have a lot of concern about the value
of their properties. But but that that aside, which is
not an easy thing to do for you and your
fellow locals. But how important is it that I suppose
(13:21):
Singleton remains. I suppose the statisqui that you referred to
at the start of our conversation, which was around that
you know, Singleton has I suppose what i'd call the
dirty side with mining and all the industrial type activity,
and then the pristine, clean, brilliant agricultural side. Like how
(13:45):
important is that for Singleton and for the for the
Hunter to have that maintain not only for now, but
dare I say future generations?
Speaker 1 (13:53):
Oh? Look, it's it's essential that you know that it's
not destroyed, you know, Like I think people underestimate the
importance of agriculture, and I think it's been pushed aside
for a long time. Like you know, we've got We've
got residents here that have had these properties in their
family since eighteen fifty, you know, like it's this is
something that's been going on a long time. And some
(14:16):
of these consultants and companies that you know, it'd be
a very different story if they were thinking of putting
these projects, you know, on the North Shore. I'm sure
that there would be people up in arms about that.
But agriculture and the rural community being just a dumping
ground for these projects, you know, and very much so.
(14:36):
I think the agricultural sector has been ignored for so
long and people don't realize, you know, where their food
comes from and the importance of having productive farming land
maintained in these areas because once again, you know, at
the end of life of this project in twenty to
thirty years, you're going to have one hundred and seventy
(14:57):
thousand solar panels sitting there and that's going to be
left up to know the residence of the person that
owns the property of that stage, to try and look
at rehabilitating this land and getting rid of of all
this this project that's been proposed. You know, the agricultural
side of things is so important to people around here,
like they're very invested and they've been into invested for
(15:20):
such a long time.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Earlier this week as small victory for the Mitchell's Flat
community when Single Drink Council unanimously voted to oppose the
proposal from Lgen Energy. But the Independent Regional Planning Panel
and the state government will be the ones making the
final call, So it's a case of back to your
corner to regroup for the next round. Will stay ringside
(15:42):
with any updates. That's a wrap on this episode of
I Heart Upper Hunter, proudly supported by the new South
Wales Government. I'm Darren KATRUPI see you next Night iHeart
Upper Hunter,
iHeart Upper Hunter, so a lot of the things that
they're telling us this company are not exactly true. It's
really just to try and get the community members over
the line.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Hello, I'm Darren Katrubi. In this episode, yet another tale
of the small local community versus a big international company.
Imagine a picture perfect, quite Upper Hunter village and then
imagine the hectares of land required to sit one hundred
and seventy seven thousand solar panels. Mitchell's Flat is prime
(00:34):
agricultural land on the clean side of Singleton. It's home
to many viable farming enterprises. But local say a proposal
by Elgin Energy for a massive solar farm in their
backyard is wrong on so many levels, especially when there's
so much available brand land on the other side of town,
land that for many years has been used by the
(00:56):
mining industry and for related industrial purpose. As residents like
Nigel Corp So they know they're in for the fight
of their lives as Macquarie Street in Canberra remain hell
bent on signing off on renewable energy projects to replace
coal fired power.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
There's several issues that we have with this proposal. Firstly
and mainly that it's the actual location of it. We're
only ten kilometers east of Singleton in some really prime
agricultural land, and the eastern side of Singleton hasn't been
touched by any industry or mining, where the other side
(01:34):
of Singleton sort of houses a lot of the mines,
and if you know about the Hunter Valley, we're full
of mine sits up here, So it's very much untouched
out this side. So the location is a huge issue
for us, and also it goes along with it too
as the impacts on the environment here. We've got two
significant waterways that run through the property in question, along
(01:57):
with a myriad of different wildlife here, including spotted quals,
and we've got koalas on the edges of this property
and the water life in these creeks that we know of,
and also to a lot of the devaluation of the
properties next to surrounding this proposal, and really the actual
(02:20):
effectiveness of these solar plants is sort of becoming more
evident now that they're We keep being told that our
energy bills are going to be lower, and they're actually
going to be going up with these as they're they're
only an intermittent power source, which is concerning everybody here,
and also to the issue with these companies that are
(02:42):
coming in developing these sites have no responsibility at the
end of the life of the project like the mines.
The mines actually have to provide a bond and a
system in place to rehabilitate the land at the end
of the life of these projects, where these renewable energy
companies do not. So basically the end of the project,
(03:05):
it's up to the farmer to have made an agreement
with whoever owns the project to try and remediate the land. Now,
this project here at Mitchell's Flat, they're proposing one hundred
and seventy seven thousand solar panels for this project, and
the only thing that can be recycled on those is
the aluminium frames just about on these. So a lot
(03:28):
of the things that they're telling us this company are
not exactly true. It's really just to try and get
the community members over the line. So yeah, there's a
lot of issues with this proposal. You know, there's been
basically a lot of concerns about the blanket nature of
(03:52):
the state government's renewable energy zones which have been implemented
all through the Hunter Valley here with no community consultation,
so we really damn a voice here with these And
because anything over thirty million dollars in infrastructure, it then
becomes a state significant issue, so the local councils don't
(04:14):
have a say in it. It actually goes to the
Independent Planning Commission, so it's basically out of the council's
hands and everything. At the moment, all these renewable energy
projects are being rubber stamped and rushed through and you know,
we're just being blindsided by it.
Speaker 3 (04:33):
Did this might be even consult with you guys before
actually announcing the project or did they just go whack
here it is what we're planning to do.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
So we first found out about it when the company
advertised a community a meeting. No, well that it wasn't
actually a meeting. It was an information session at the
local library. And when we attended that, there was a
lot of angry people there and the consultancy company that
(05:06):
they have engaged, that Elgin Energy has engaged Irbus, really
had very little information that they could give us. Continue
to tell us that they were there to just take questions,
couldn't answer a lot of the questions that the community
members had, and to the point where they couldn't even
spell Mitchell's Flat correctly, So you know, it was very
(05:27):
very substandard the effort that they went to and just
basically couldn't answer a lot of the questions that we
had and we're just trying to sell the project to us.
So yeah, there's a lot of very very concerned and
cranky people out this way now because it seems to
have just been dropped on us.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
How many landowners is it going to impact on if
it did go ahead.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
There's about two hundred and forty two residents surrounding the
property in question. There's about sixty six f families and
these panels will be in the direct view of the
majority of these properties, and this is an area well
known for a lot of significant cultural sites, but that
(06:14):
doesn't seem to be an issue. They seem to get
in companies from outer area and have assessments done and
the Planning Commission seem to be able to still push
it through without any problems. So, you know, the whole
renewable energy projects that are going ahead now with the
(06:35):
aim of net zero, it's just being rushed through by
the new South Wales Labor government without much consideration to
the community. Members in these areas. It's very much like
we don't have a voice at.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
All, play Devil's advocate. Can can these gazillion solar panels
and the existing agriculture practices coexist in the.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
So well, we don't believe. So, you know, we were
sold sold the idea that everything will be fine because
you can graze sheep on this property once the solar
panels in. Firstly, this is not sheep country. If they
had any idea, they would know that. And secondly, now
from what they've found from other factories that there's now
(07:23):
interference from the animals that are trying to graze even
the sheep on the actual facilities themselves, to the point
now where we have to sign a stat deck when
we sell any livestock, and now the regulating body has
stated on that stat deck has any of our livestock
been in close proximity to either solar or wind farms
(07:45):
because they have such a concern for the risk of
contamination to the livestock and therefore going through the food chain.
So you know, the very fact that they've stated that
we've even got bigger concerns now about trying to graze animals,
and it would only be sheep. You know, we wouldn't
(08:07):
be able to graze cattle on these project sites. But
once again the state government and the Planning Commission of
I'll just say no, you can graze sheep on it.
That's fine, that's that problem solved. So with no real
insight into what goes on in a cultural sector, and
I think, you know, especially Singleton and the surrounding areas
(08:28):
has carried the load for the mining industry for so long.
It just seems that we're being bombarded now with these projects.
And one of the problems is is that with these
renewable projects, they can change hands five to six times
in their lives. So you know what's been happening in
other areas is that one company will get it to
(08:50):
an approval stage and then they will sell it. Another
company will then they will sell it, and each time
they're getting money, large sums of money each time it
changes and so you know, at the end of the life,
whatever promises have been made by the initial company, they're
long gone. So it's really concerning and it's not just
a Mitchell's Flat issue. It's an issue all around around
(09:12):
the state and the country.
Speaker 2 (09:15):
Still to come. Singleton Mayor Sue More leads a council
revolt against the proposal from Elgin Energy.
Speaker 1 (09:25):
I heart Apper Hunter, I heart aper Hunter.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
I'm Darren Katrubi. Sometimes in the race to push renewables
over our traditional power options, the rights of a community
to be consulted can be pushed aside, and the voices
of the little guys like those living in Mitchell's Flat
are quickly dismissed. And that's exactly how Resident Nigel KRP feels.
Nigel is leading the Mitchell's Flat community campaign to have
(09:55):
Elgin Energy rethink its plan to build a one hundred
and seventy seven thousand old penel farm in his neck
of the Upper Hunter Woods. But he's far from a
winging nimbi.
Speaker 3 (10:06):
So for those that aren't familiar with Mitchell's Flat, what
are the sort of agricultural industries that are being produced
there at the moment in this in this prime country.
Speaker 1 (10:17):
Yeah, so there's everything from cattle and horses, and we've
got cropping throughout the area. Also there's types of accommodation
farm stays down the area. So you know, it's it's
it's something that you know, the people here are very
(10:37):
passionate about and they've obviously moved here for a reason
because it's quite it's untouched. But unfortunately now it just
seems that you know, any renewable energy company can come
in and get the green light from the state government.
And you know, the issue has now been raised in
State Parliament twice now in regards to Mitchell's flat itself
(11:01):
and the issue that we've got here. As I said,
it's not just here, it's everywhere that's happening. So you know,
what we're calling for is a moratorium on approvals until
there can be some sort of stricter regulations when it
comes to these foreign owned companies coming in and just
steamrolling these rural communities.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
So it has been mentioned in parliament, like you said,
and I assuming you guys have sent correspondents to the
responsible Minister, Will Scully, have you had any response from
the government that gives you any hope that anything other
than what you expect to happen will happen.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
No, we've had really good support from a few of
our local members and our council are very supportive of
our opposition, and our local federal member is just starting
to get on board, and we've had Tanya Mahalic raise
(12:03):
issue and ask questions in state Parliament to Penny Sharp
and we're sort of waiting on response from her. But yeah,
it's pretty hard to actually speak to the people who
are making these decisions on these projects because every time
you try and make contact with them, you get the
generic replies every time. So that's why we've been trying
(12:25):
to push million quite hard on our local members, the
Nationals and Liberals, and also labor understanding that it's a
labor policy to push these renewable projects through. So that's
providing its own issues in itself. But there is an
election coming up, and there's a lot of a lot
(12:47):
of cranky people out there who are opposing these projects,
so it's going to be very interesting coming up to
election time.
Speaker 3 (12:57):
Obviously, you know, individual families and property owners at Mitchell's
Flat Brightly have a lot of concern about the value
of their properties. But but that that aside, which is
not an easy thing to do for you and your
fellow locals. But how important is it that I suppose
(13:21):
Singleton remains. I suppose the statisqui that you referred to
at the start of our conversation, which was around that
you know, Singleton has I suppose what i'd call the
dirty side with mining and all the industrial type activity,
and then the pristine, clean, brilliant agricultural side. Like how
(13:45):
important is that for Singleton and for the for the
Hunter to have that maintain not only for now, but
dare I say future generations?
Speaker 1 (13:53):
Oh? Look, it's it's essential that you know that it's
not destroyed, you know, Like I think people underestimate the
importance of agriculture, and I think it's been pushed aside
for a long time. Like you know, we've got We've
got residents here that have had these properties in their
family since eighteen fifty, you know, like it's this is
something that's been going on a long time. And some
(14:16):
of these consultants and companies that you know, it'd be
a very different story if they were thinking of putting
these projects, you know, on the North Shore. I'm sure
that there would be people up in arms about that.
But agriculture and the rural community being just a dumping
ground for these projects, you know, and very much so.
(14:36):
I think the agricultural sector has been ignored for so
long and people don't realize, you know, where their food
comes from and the importance of having productive farming land
maintained in these areas because once again, you know, at
the end of life of this project in twenty to
thirty years, you're going to have one hundred and seventy
(14:57):
thousand solar panels sitting there and that's going to be
left up to know the residence of the person that
owns the property of that stage, to try and look
at rehabilitating this land and getting rid of of all
this this project that's been proposed. You know, the agricultural
side of things is so important to people around here,
like they're very invested and they've been into invested for
(15:20):
such a long time.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
Earlier this week as small victory for the Mitchell's Flat
community when Single Drink Council unanimously voted to oppose the
proposal from Lgen Energy. But the Independent Regional Planning Panel
and the state government will be the ones making the
final call, So it's a case of back to your
corner to regroup for the next round. Will stay ringside
(15:42):
with any updates. That's a wrap on this episode of
I Heart Upper Hunter, proudly supported by the new South
Wales Government. I'm Darren KATRUPI see you next Night iHeart
Upper Hunter,
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