Magpie Hill Solar Farm

How the Project has changed since we last spoke to you

We're committed to listening and showing how community feedback, together with technical assessments, is helping to shape the Project. Here's what we've heard so far and how the project design has evolved since submission of the Scoping Report:

Protecting biodiversity and important environmental areas

• We heard: Protecting native vegetation, wildlife habitat and areas of environmental significance is important to the community.

• What we've done: We removed approximately 15 hectares from the development footprint to avoid a threatened ecological community. We have also avoided all identified Black Gum trees, a species protected under Commonwealth legislation and avoided a patch of hollow-bearing trees in the north-west which is considered high value habitat. In addition to our 100m buffer already applied to the Mulwaree River, we’ve applied 30-40m buffers (depending on the Strahler order) to other waterways on site, including Fairy Meadow Creek. We previously proposed two crossings of the Mulwaree River, and have now selected only one to proceed with.

Reducing visual impacts

• We heard: Visual impact is one of the key concerns raised by neighbours and the broader community.

• What we've done: We removed the north-east portion of the project area from the development footprint to reduce impacts on nearby residents. We have also chosen transmission poles rather than larger lattice towers. We originally proposed transmission poles with a height of 60 m. However, following detailed visual assessments and photomontage modelling from neighbouring properties, the proposed transmission pole height has been reduced to 50 m. The cut-in towers near the substation have also been reduced in height, from 60 m to 50 m and 35 m. We hosted a webinar where project specialists will share how visual impact assessments are being used to shape the design, present updated visual simulations, and answer questions from the community. See below for the recording.

Improving road safety and access

• We heard: Traffic, road safety and the condition of local roads are important considerations for the community.

• What we've done: Traffic assessments have informed changes to site access arrangements, including relocating the proposed main access point to improve sight distances and vehicle safety. Further traffic studies are underway to identify any additional road improvements or management measures that may be required.

Managing bushfire and safety risks

• We heard: Community members want to understand how bushfire and battery safety risks will be managed.

• What we've done: Based on recommendations made by our specialist bushfire consultant, we have implemented an 12m Asset Protection Zone (APZ) and defendable space around solar farm infrastructure, substation, and BESS. We have designed the decentralised BESS option to limit the number of units located together in any one area, with appropriate spacing between units to limit the potential for a fire to spread. We’re continuing to incorporate fire safety design measures into the project, including dedicated firefighting water supplies, and ensuring access tracks allow for safe use by emergency vehicles

  We hosted a technical webinar with our bushfire specialist to explain how bushfire and battery safety risks are being assessed and managed, and to provide an opportunity for community members to ask questions directly. See below for the recording.

Flooding and hydrology

• We heard: Concern about locating infrastructure in flood‑affected areas, potential changes to surface water flows.

• What we've done: We’ve designed our layout to locate solar panels and BESS to avoid all flood storage areas. Placement of infrastructure in floodway areas have been minimised. We’re currently undertaking detailed flood modelling to understand how the Project may affect flood behaviour across the site and identify measures we’ll implement to avoid and minimise impacts.

Noise

• We heard: Noise impacts from the substation and BESS is a key concern amongst the community.

• What we've done: We’ve designed the location and configuration of key noise-generating infrastructure, including battery units, power conversion systems (inverters) and the project substation based on noise assessment findings. The indicative layout has been refined to maintain appropriate separation distances from neighbouring residences, and noise performance is being considered in the selection of major equipment.

Aboriginal Cultural Heritage

• We heard: Protecting cultural heritage and understanding connections to Country were identified as important considerations through engagement with First Nations stakeholders and the broader community. Feedback highlighted the importance of understanding cultural values and avoiding impacts on areas of cultural significance wherever possible.

• What we've done: Cultural heritage surveys carried out with Pejar identified three artefact sites within the project area and highlighted areas that may contain additional cultural heritage values. We have already adjusted the project to avoid one of these sites and will continue to prioritise avoiding the other two sites during the detailed design stage where possible.

Supporting agriculture

• We heard: Maintaining productive agricultural land is important to the local community.

• What we're doing: We're assessing opportunities for agrisolar, allowing agricultural activities such as livestock grazing to continue alongside renewable energy generation where practical and suitable.

Creating lasting local benefits

• We heard: Community members want to understand how the Project could contribute positively to the local area and deliver benefits that reflect community priorities.

• What we're doing: We're committed to working with the community to develop a benefit sharing program that delivers lasting value to the region. This includes exploring opportunities such as community funding, local employment, support for local businesses, neighbour benefit initiatives, training and education opportunities, and other programs that respond to local needs and priorities. Community feedback will continue to help inform the development of this program as the Project progresses.

Further refinements to the Project design, layout and mitigation measures will be made as detailed studies progress and consultation continues. This iterative process ensures that community feedback, alongside technical assessments, continues to inform decisions and helps to avoid or minimise environmental, social and amenity impacts wherever possible.

Community feedback continues to inform technical studies, project design and mitigation measures as we prepare the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). We'll continue sharing what we're learning, what decisions are being made, and how community feedback is helping to shape the Project.