Community consultation commences for the proposed Mates Gully Solar Farm
7 February 2022
Spark Renewables has commenced community consultation for the proposed Mates Gully Solar Farm by opening registration for two online forums to be conducted via Zoom on Tuesday, 22 February 2022.
The proposed project is a solar farm with a generation capacity of up to 160 megawatts and battery energy storage system that could output 100 megawatts over four hours.
The electricity generated by the solar farm would provide enough reliable, clean electricity to power approximately 90,000 NSW homes, while offsetting the emission of more than 300,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.
The site location is approximately 30km east of Wagga Wagga, between Borambola and Tarcutta in the Wagga Wagga City Council Local Government Area of New South Wales. The project location is particularly attractive for its strong solar irradiance and access to the electricity grid through existing 132 kV lines that cross the proposed site.
The project is in the early stages of development and must undergo a rigorous planning and assessment process. All interested neighbours and community members are invited to ask questions and provide feedback before a Scoping Report is lodged with the planning authorities.
Stakeholders will have further opportunities to provide feedback throughout the planning process, including when the Environmental Impact Statement goes on public exhibition.
Long-term, distributed benefits for hosting the Mates Gully Solar Farm would be offered to the community in accordance with the level of impact on residents.
Anthony Marriner, Head of Spark Renewables, said: “We are looking at offering three different options of benefit-sharing that are each determined by how closely neighbours are impacted by the solar farm; however, we are open to suggestions that better appeal to the community.”
People can register for either one of the two virtual community meetings by going to the project website: www.matesgullysolarfarm.com. For those who are not able to attend, more information is available on the project website, including the Mates Gully Solar Farm project newsletter.
The Spark Renewables team can also be reached on 1300 271 419.
ENDS
Contact:
Will Stone, Head of Development
M: +61 468 745 736
E: will.stone@sparkrenewables.com
Download media release: Community consultation commences for the proposed Mates Gully Solar Farm.
