Update on Community Energy Park

Dear MRSG members and friends,

You will recall the Macedon Ranges Sustainability Group has been working on a major renewable energy project south of Woodend for a number of years. It is proposed to combine wind energy, a solar plant and battery storage on a scale potentially capable of producing power equivalent to the Macedon Ranges Shire household consumption.

Whilst the analysis so far shows that the site on Hancocks Victoria’s Pine Plantation is suitable for such a project in technical, financial and potentially planning terms, the project requires formal access to the land which is set aside for forestry purposes.

After detailed discussion and analysis over the last couple of years, it has been concluded by the key parties to the project that the use of the land for energy production will require a legislative amendment which the state government has informed us is not a short to medium term priority on the legislative program.

As a party with a potential interest in the project, MRSG wishes to keep you abreast of significant developments. Our judgement is that there will be an approximate four year period before this threshold measure can be reconsidered and potentially progressed.

Please direct any inquiries on the matter to myself or Vice President, Bruce Mildenhall, on 0419302839

Regards,

Dr David Gormley-O’Brien

president@mrsg.org.au