A lobby group has been set up to fight a proposed solar development at Glenrowan West.
A group of Glenrowan West residents is mobilising to fight a proposed solar farm and battery installation near the historic town.
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A landowner-led renewable energy project called Nioka Solar is proposed for a site at 619 Glenrowan West Rd, Glenrowan West.
While the landowners, the Koop family, are backing and delivering the project, it is surrounding community members who are questioning the development.
The Nioka Solar website confirms the development will enable the continued use of the land for grazing sheep under the solar panels, maintaining agricultural jobs.
A lobby group has been set up, No Nioka Solar, which aims to spread awareness of, and ultimately fight, the construction of the project.
Members cite a lack of consultation and “destruction” of local countryside as key concerns.
“The proposal is for 420,000 solar panels and a Battery Energy Storage System,” lobby group member Libby Foubister said.
The plan is for the project to be 250MW in size, enough to potentially power 100,000 homes.
Ms Foubister said the residents’ group would be holding a community meeting at the Glenrowan Hotel on Wednesday, May 27 at 6.30pm.
She said it had invited all interested community members to come along to hear from concerned community members and industry experts.
State Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland and state Member for Ovens Valley Tim McCurdy have confirmed their attendance at the meeting.
“We were pleased to host state Member for Northern Victoria Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell on Tuesday, who has been helping other communities facing these unwanted renewable projects,” Ms Foubister said.
Ms Foubister said a number of our community members attended a meeting VicGrid held at Dookie, on May 5.
The No Nioka Solar group feels the proposed site of a new solar farm at Glenrowan West will destroy the aesthetic of the area.
“On May 6 the Nioka Solar Project website was discovered. Two community members attempted to get in touch with the developers, an email was not responded to and a verbal request for a meeting was denied,” she said.
“The website was removed immediately after the phone conversation had taken place ... leaving us nowhere to go.
“We feel we’ve had zero consultation, and it is our understanding that it will now go to the minister of planning in the third quarter of 2026.
“Our concerns are that these applications are being assessed in isolation and are not taking into account the cumulative effect of many individual applications, that now run alongside each other, covering hundreds and hundreds of acres.”
Ms Foubister said the site was a designated bushfire-prone area, in one of the most serene, beautiful spaces you could imagine
“A fire in these large-scale solar sites would be catastrophic; toxic runoff cannot be avoided,” she said.
“These sites are situated upstream of our waterways and surround the world-renowned Winton Wetlands.
“It’s home to the critically endangered regent honeyeater, the site is planned on yet another vegetation overlay, the Regent Honeyeater Habitat/Lurg Ironbark Protection Area VPO3.
“One of our community members stands to be surrounded on all four sides of her two acre property.
“What is she to do, aside from losing her home and, as she says, ‘the land she loves’.
“She is now in her 60s, her property becomes worthless in terms of land value, she will not be able to afford to move, let alone retire. An entire life’s work down the drain.
“The landscape will be irreversibly changed for ever if we don’t continue to speak up”.
A spokesperson from Umwelt, an environmental and social professional services consultancy, said it had been advising the Koop family on the project.
“The Koop family have lived at Nioka for 15 years and value being part of the community,” the spokesperson said.
“Respect for their community and good community outcomes has been an important part of project development and the Koops have personally contacted nearby neighbours to advise them of their intention to investigate the viability of Nioka Solar.
“The concerns of neighbours are being taken seriously, and the Koop family are committed to ongoing two-way communication with neighbours.
“A community drop-in session is being planned mid-year to share project information; they will advise the community once confirmed.
“The project is in the early development stage, with the design currently being finalised.
“They will undertake community engagement leading up to, and following, the submission of the planning permit application.”
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