VFF won’t back renewables on some land

THE Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) is arguing renewable energy projects should be kept out of a large part of the state’s south-west as the area should be preserved as important farmland.

The VFF has made a submission as part of state government consultation on the study area for the Victorian Transmission Plan Guidelines.

The guidelines includes a renewable energy zone study area map, showing parts of Victoria the state government is investigating further as it works to identify potential future renewable energy zones.

According to an online map of the study area, onshore wind turbines are excluded under Victorian planning law everywhere on the Bellarine Peninsula and within 5km of the high-water mark of the entire south-west coastline from Geelong to Warrnambool.

With the exception of the Otways, the land immediately north of this exclusion zone and into the hinterland ranges from Tier 3 (available for investigation) to Tier 1 (prioritise for investigation).

The VFF’s map in its submission conflicts with this and rules out renewable energy or transmission from an area much larger than the Otways on land with “dairy or horticulture commodities” as they are in “areas with productive soil, reliable rainfall or irrigation systems and are the hub of food processing and manufacturing”.

The VFF also wants to protect the Goulburn Murray Irrigation District, the Ballarat district, Southern and Central Gippsland, and the Kiewa and Mitta valleys.

VFF president Emma Germano said the state needed to take a balanced approach to renewable energy development.

“Victorian food and fibre production must be acknowledged for the value it provides the state.

“Victoria produces 30 per cent of the nation’s food from just 1.5 per cent of Australia’s land mass.

“Any reduction in that area will have a drastic impact on the quantity and variety of food available to the community.

“The first step to doing this is identifying and protecting our most strategically significant farmland that underpins jobs and food security.”

The Victorian government has closed submissions to the study area and is reviewing feedback.

For more information on the plan and guidelines, head to engage.vic.gov.au/victransmissionplan