Mayoral Memo | Council's working together in the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone

There are three Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ). Rather than try and outdo each other or gain some advantage over each adjacent LGA, the three of us have committed to communicating on a regular basis and sharing information.

This week saw a meeting attended by Mayor Des Kennedy from Mid-Western Regional Council, Mayor Ambrose Doolan from Warrumbungle Shire Council and myself. The setting was in Dunedoo and the forum was a meeting of the local members of NSW Farmers Association. The topic was the Renewable Energy Zone that encompasses parts of all three of those LGAs.

It was fair to say that there were some people in the room who were absolutely opposed to the installation of renewable energy infrastructure on land currently being used as farming land. Some in the room wanted to know what the three of us, as the Mayors in this REZ, were doing to stop the further proliferation of wind turbines and solar panels in our area.

This immediately raised a problem I have discussed in this column previously. The Local Government Act 1993 (as amended) outlines, in great detail, the various responsibilities and powers of the 128 Councils across the State. There are other items that are primarily the responsibility of either the State or Federal Government.

READ MORE:

The problem raised by the people wanting renewable infrastructure to be stopped was that they had the wrong people in the room. When it comes to the installation of large-scale solar farms and wind turbines, Council is not the consent authority. Typically the NSW Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) will assess these projects and then they are typically determined by the Independent Planning Commission of NSW. At best, Councils can add comments to the information considered by the commission.

The three Mayors explained that while we have no power to approve or reject applications, we do have the ability to try and maximise the benefits for the communities where these projects will be built. By sharing information, it is more likely that all three communities will gain more benefits. A policy that recently was passed by Dubbo Regional Council in relation to a percentage figure for community benefits was shared with other Councils and a similar policy is going before Mid-Western Regional Council just this week.

Apart from the three Councils in this REZ, Dubbo Regional Council is also in discussions with other REZs to ensure that communities, not just multi-national power generators, are the ultimate beneficiaries of these projects.

To learn more about the activities of Council each week, listen to my podcast which is published each Sunday morning. Search for 'Mayoral Memo with Mathew Dickerson' for your weekly summary of Council activities.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: