Farmers have been given the opportunity to sway what renewable energy projects look like in rural areas to effectively balance renewables with farming productivity, but time is of the essence. 

The Agriculture Commissioner’s review into on-farm renewable energy facilities is allowing contributions from farmers and people in rural areas to help protect regional communities with the growth of the renewables sector. 

Minister for Agriculture Dugald Saunders said the review into the current policy settings will consider the impact of renewables on agricultural land. 

“Findings from the review will help inform future settings that balance the needs of these sectors with those of regional communities as they continue to grow,” Mr Saunders said. 

New research from the University of NSW (UNSW), however, suggests that now isn’t the time to slow down renewable development, with new modelling indicating that simply substituting fossil fuels with renewable energy at current energy usage levels is no longer enough. 

UNSW Professor Mark Diesendorf said that to keep global heating below 1.5 degrees Celsius, total energy consumption itself needs to halve over the next three decades based on 2019 levels. 

“We have a situation where renewable electricity and total energy consumption are growing quite rapidly alongside one another. So renewables are chasing a retreating target that keeps getting further away,” Mr Diesendorf said. 

While there are many technological policies that support a transition to 100 per cent renewable energy, most are not designed to reduce energy consumption. 

Those that do rely on technologies such as CO2 capture, which remains speculative and untested on a large scale.  

Regardless, farming industry bodies are urging farmers to take the opportunity to have a say in what the future of renewables looks like in the rural landscape. 

NSW Farmers Energy Transition Working Group chair Reg Kidd said that the opportunity to engage with the government for a better understanding and consideration of agricultural land in strategic planning is welcome. 

"So far the custodians of our rural land have been all but ignored in how to best achieve renewable energy installation in our traditional rural areas, and this review will give a voice to the damage done to date, and to the opportunity to do it right," Mr Kidd said.

"Industrial installations such as solar and wind energy plants are vital to our ongoing energy requirements and can deliver real benefits to rural landowners and communities; they just need to be in the right balance, and not divide communities and erode hundreds of years of economic and social fabric,” he said. 

Farmers for Climate Action CEO Fiona Davis, however, is concerned that there is a wavering on the net zero by 2050 target set by the Coalition. 

“Farmers need a stable climate with reliable rainfall to grow your food. Australia can protect our farmers and food supply by taking the opportunity to make deep emissions reductions this decade across all sectors,” Ms Favis said.

“The energy and transport sectors in particular have clear opportunities to reduce emissions rapidly, with significant additional benefits to farmers and regional Australians,” she said.

With the emissions target growing increasingly difficult to reach, however, so too will the opportunity to balance agricultural and industry interests with the necessity of renewable facilities. 

To access the issues paper and to provide a written submission, visit www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/lup. Submissions close 5pm, May 23, 2022.