Australia, Policy, Projects, Renewables, Solar, Storage

Sustainable future for farmers and renewables

As energy projects continue to expand across rural landscapes, they must navigate a complex web of trust, tradition and environmental concern.

As Australia strives to meet its renewable energy targets, the development of solar and wind farms, along with the required new transmission lines, is on the rise.

While these projects are crucial for reducing carbon emissions and mitigating climate change, the far-reaching impacts on landholders and communities remain evident.

Energy projects face numerous challenges during construction, including tight deadlines, evolving regulations, supply chain disruptions and a shortage of skilled workers, all while dealing with legacy consequences of past projects.

Generational farmers often still bear the scars from previous developments on their land, whether they were transmission lines, pipelines or related to past resources booms. And these scars carry with them vivid memories of impacts on their land, their community and their mental health.

Today, however, social license is a key guiding principle for every project, but rebuilding trust takes time and constant effort. Biosecurity impacts on their land represent another critical concern of landholders, with the high traffic that comes with project developments potentially posing risks to soil health.

Just a single seed from an invasive weed – imported, say, on a vehicle – can spawn a disaster that shuts down million-dollar operations, imperils the export industry and threatens to cripple local food production.

The project team used Dura-Base mats to ensure the grid connection work to proceed on schedule with minimal impact on the farmland. Image: JWA

Lee Kingma, a landholder of a sheep and cattle farm who has two 330-kilovolt (kV) transmission lines constructed on his property, understands that biosecurity is critical, with livestock grazing on rich grasses. Imported fill brought in during construction can pose a significant risk.

“One of the potential issues with using import rock and fill is that you often don’t know where it is from and what weed and seeds it carries,” Kingma said.

Belinda Callanan, a biosecurity expert and partner at TH9 Pastoral, believes that to harmonise progress with preservation, construction methods must adapt and rigorous biosecurity measures must become the norm.

“Understanding current issues on a property or site, including the presence of declared weeds, pest animals and diseases, is critical,” she said. “While there are no legislative requirements to conduct these surveys, failing to identify biosecurity issues early on can significantly inflate project costs through control measures and potential compensation claims.”

Engaging with landholders and communities and conducting thorough environmental assessments are also key steps in mitigating biosecurity risks during construction projects. Proactively addressing potential threats is more efficient and cost-effective than investing resources later in the process to control the spread of invasive species.

“Ensuring good biosecurity practices – like vehicle and equipment clean-downs, proper check-ins and check-outs at the site, and ensuring any human-assisted movement of materials is free of biosecurity matter – is vital,” Callanan said.    

One commonly adopted measure in sensitive areas is the use of wash-down bays at site entrances.

“But it doesn’t stop there,” Callanan said. “Training staff and contractors in proper clean-down procedures and highlighting the importance of these protocols are essential to ensuring their effectiveness.

“An established good biosecurity culture among staff and contractors is critical to successful biosecurity management.”

Wash-down bays are not the only solution to keep the unwanted species away. Callanan also highlighted the importance of establishing biosecurity zones and procedures. 

“These measures help prevent invasive species from spreading from one area to another,” she said.

Callanan said it is very important to employ thoughtful, low-impact approaches wherever possible.

At the Dulacca Wind Farm Project in Queensland, the home of one of Australia’s tallest wind turbines, Velco Vegetation faced a challenge: the site needed to access a fertile wheat field for grid connection works.

Together with Ergon Energy – the company responsible for the delivery of powerline construction scope – the project sought to find a solution that balanced the interests of the landholder and other stakeholders.

“Undertaking a considered approach with minimal disturbance is key,” she said.

Ergon and Velco chose a low-impact approach to minimise disruption for the construction of the Dulacca Wind Farm, sourcing Dura-Base mats from a local supplier. In one week, the team installed 4700 square metres of these mats, equivalent to 1.2 kilometres of roadway, enabling the grid connection work to proceed on schedule with minimal impact on the farmland.

JWA, a temporary access solution-provider – and supplier of the mats – explained to ecogeneration that the mats “act as a protective layer, separating the land below from potential contaminants above and significantly reducing environmental risks”.

The Dura-Base mats provide essential support for heavy construction equipment while acting as a barrier against soil disturbance, preventing wheel rutting and other mechanical stresses that could have compromised the soil.

“One of the issues in relation to land access is often that when vehicles disturb the ground and cause of wheel rutting, this disturbed ground often creates the localised conditions that support the growth of imported weeds,” Kingma added.

For the Dulacca Wind Farm, traditional methods of using imported fill materials such as rock and gravel would have increased the risk of contamination and required extensive post-construction efforts to remove the materials and restore the land.

The use of gravel is a standard construction methodology; however, when under pressure, it can easily integrate with the soil, potentially compromising its suitability for farming after the project’s completion.

In contrast, composite mats provide a more sustainable alternative by reducing the need for such materials and simplifying site restoration.

Once the mats are removed, the land can be easily recultivated as part of standard agricultural practices, preserving soil quality and ensuring future usability.

In addition, by avoiding the transportation of nearly 2818 tonnes of crushed rock on the Dulacca Wind Farm, the carbon emissions typically associated with material transportation were significantly reduced.

JWA Operations Manager Windsor Fick said the company has seen a surge of demand for its mats in the renewable project development sector, particularly for access in the environmentally sensitive areas.

“We scrupulously clean and inspect our mats for any cavities that could harbour invasive plant seeds, ensuring they are clear of all soil and plant material which could house hazardous seeds and other contaminants,” Fick said.

“We are proud to be doing our part, in our own small way, by offering solutions that can help projects reduce the environmental footprint of the project.”

As energy projects continue to evolve, rebuilding trust with landholders requires a commitment to preserving the land’s integrity and respecting its cultural significance.

For generational farmers, land is more than just a commodity – it’s a connection to their past, their memories and their legacy. 

This article featured in the October edition of ecogeneration. 

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