Angus Taylor lines up against huge solar and battery project in Hume

Claims have emerged that the former federal minister for energy and emissions reduction, Angus Taylor, is quietly supporting people opposing the development of a 400MW solar farm and big battery near Goulburn in New South Wales, in Taylor’s Hume electorate.

Plans for the massive Gundary Solar Farm were unveiled earlier this year by Lightsource bp – the global renewables joint venture between UK solar company Lightsource and the global oil giant BP.

The proposed project is one of five Lightsource bp is currently working up in NSW, as part of the 2GW portfolio it plans to have established in Australia by the mid-2020s.

But reports in the local paper in early April revealed neighbouring landowners were gearing up to fight the project – even before the community consultation process had begun – as unsuitable for the “agricultural nature of Gundary Plains.”

And a media statement last week from The Goulburn Group (TGG) – an incorporated association founded in 2007 to support the urgent transition to a low carbon economy – said it understood Taylor was “privately giving his strong backing” to this opposition campaign.

The statement also noted that the NSW Coalition government’s local member, Wendy Tuckerman, was on the record with her own opposition to Gundary solar farm, having declared her views in state Parliament in early June.

“It is staggering that Angus Taylor and Wendy Tuckerman are backing the campaign by a small number of landholders against a project that has the potential not only to provide a boost to the local economy but to open up much larger opportunities for renewable energy developments in our region,” TGG vice-president Mike Steketee said.

“Whose interests do they have in mind exactly? Don’t people in Goulburn and surrounding areas deserve jobs and development?”

Taylor, who was shifted into the role of shadow Treasurer after the Coalition’s May election loss, is not renowned for his support of renewable energy development. RenewEconomy editor Giles Parkinson described him as a “giant bollard standing in the way of smart policy and huge investments.”

And while he is on the record for his past opposition to wind farm development, Taylor rarely – if ever – visited a solar project during his time as energy minister, having declared back in 2018 after being named energy minister that there was “too much wind and solar in the grid.”

Steketee says he believes voters in the Hume electorate were misled by Angus Taylor’s recent pitch for re-election through his campaign promises of jobs, skills and industry for the region, where Taylor’s family also owns pastoral property.

“Mr Taylor’s property is one of the small number close to this proposed development. But as our elected member of parliament, not to mention as former Minister for Emissions Reduction, he has a wider responsibility to his community and to the planet.”

Taylor did not comment on TGG’s claims that he was supporting opponents of the Gundary solar farm, but in an emailed statement to RenewEconomy on Monday the shadow Treasurer said it was “critical” that landowner concerns were heard.

“There is enormous opposition to this project from the surrounding landholders and it is critical their concerns are being appropriately considered and listened to.

“I share their deep concerns as does the local state member Wendy Tuckerman,” he said.

“It is also important to recognise the Gundary area is not part of the NSW government’s Renewable Energy Zone. There are renewable energy zones planned and operational across the state that welcome these projects but the Gundary region is not one of those.”

For her part, Tuckerman said last month that Goulburn was “saturated with renewable energy projects; wind farms and solar farms.”

She complained that this was having a negative impact on “the productive prime agricultural land that supplies our nation’s tables, and causing emotional distress to the residents impacted by these foreign‑owned businesses and the uncertainty of the planning process.”

But clearly the Gundary solar farm has its supporters in the community, too.

“As a community association with a strong commitment to action on climate change,TGG supports this project provided that the promises made by the company, lightsource bp, are kept and there are further benefits for our community,” TGG’s Steketee said.

“The company says it will spend $540 million on the solar farm to supply enough renewable energy for 133,000 households.

“The project plans include livestock grazing on the 638ha where the solar panels and battery system will be located, demonstrating that farming and renewable energy can be compatible.

“TGG will make strong representations for the 400 jobs promised during construction to be sourced locally and for local businesses to be engaged.

“It will press the company to provide training and to support our local TAFE.

“It will expect it to establish a significant community benefit fund, applying the best models used for existing wind and solar projects.”