Bookaar Renewables Pty Ltd compared with Powervault Mildura Solar Generator One Pty Ltd

摘要

Proponents of solar energy facilities have to grapple with a range of technical, financial and legal requirements to get their projects off the ground. Sunshine may be plentiful in many parts of Victoria; a flat space near the electricity grid (with connection capacity), less so. Often, solar energy facilities (SEF) have to compete with existing agricultural uses in suitable locations. This makes obtaining a planning permit more challenging as it brings into play policies in Victorian planning schemes favouring the protection of agricultural land. How does this marry with an objective to increase renewable energy, which is also recognised in planning schemes? State standard provisions require decision makers to balance conflicting objectives in favour of net community benefit and sustainable development. Two recent decisions in VCAT (Tribunal), from August and September 2019, consider applications for separate SEF proposals. They illustrate that the strategic importance of the particular farmland can be the swing factor in deciding which policy objective is more important in a particular context. If the overriding importance of the farmland is established, then co-location of an SEF with ongoing commercial farming may be the only way to obtain a planning permit for SEF.