Farmers for Climate Action (FCA), representing 8300 farmer members, has welcomed new Queensland clean energy regulations.
The highlights include:
- Clarity around decommissioning and rehabilitation of clean energy projects
- Investigation into the impact of construction on local workforce and accommodation
- Identifying the best trucking route from the outset
There were further promises to investigate:
- Increasing access to information about projects through an online portal
- Expanding the role of the Water Ombudsman to consider community complaints
- Expanding the role of the state environment authority
FCA CEO Natalie Collard welcomed the news.
"We welcome government actions that give farmers more choice, provide communities with better information and create improved outcomes for nature," Ms Collard said.
"Renewables done right means looking after nature, looking after farmers and delivering real community benefit.
"What a farmer does with their own land is their own choice. Every farmer hosting renewables is doing so voluntarily, often because the drought proof income works for them. Renewables make farms more productive by giving the farmer a double income from the same land - sheep graze under solar panels and both sheep and cattle graze around wind turbines.
"Even though most wind companies already have decommissioning plans and it doesn't make sense for a clean energy company to leave millions of dollars worth of steel or solar panel material in a paddock, we're pleased to see more clarity around rehabilitation of clean energy projects. We note Australia has 50,000 abandoned mines and we're eager for a plan to rehabilitate those.
"We hope a potential expansion of the environment authority can see it investigate the possibility of more wind farms installing AI camera systems and painting one turbine blade a different colour to reduce bird strikes."
