Renewables debate: a vexed one for landowners

So what's the catch? Well, it's simply a case of whether you embrace the philosophy and technology of renewables or you don't because that's what a reliable government source said a landholder can get every year for hosting one wind turbine.

Last week, I spoke with well known cattleman Will Wilson of Calliope Cattle Station, Calliope, about why he had signed up to host renewables on his family's property.

I also spoke to James Walker of Camden Park Station, near Longreach, who was a pioneer in accepting renewables as a part of life in regional Queensland.

For Mr Walker, the initial impetus was to build a large scale project that generated jobs to stop the flow of people and talent from the town during a downturn in the economy because of drought. In the end, rather than build a solar farm, he leased some of his country for the project.

Like Mr Wilson, diversifying his farm operation to have a guaranteed income was also a motivator for Mr Walker.

Mr Wilson said the reliable income would allow his family to improve the overall environment of their property as well as their animal welfare.

And, like anything in life, there are people who are in favour of renewable projects and there are others who are vehemently opposed.

I'll be honest and say that if a renewables project - be it a line of wind turbines or acres of solar panels - popped up beside my home, I wouldn't be happy at all.

I am also yet to be convinced that renewable energy, without coal-fired power stations, can supply enough electricity to keep the lights on at peak times, let alone air conditioning during summer and heating during winter for our growing population, but that's a debate for another time.

This debate - and it's a vexed one - is about the uptake of renewables, where they are being built, how they affect those around them and what's going to happen when the life of these projects come to an end.

At this year's Local Government Association of Queensland conference, the issue of renewable projects, their impacts and how they should be assessed and managed was raised by numerous councils.

A major concern was how the solar panels and wind turbines will be disposed of when they are decommissioned. Ending up in landfill is surely not a viable option so where will they go? Can they be recycled? Who knows, but very soon there will be a lot of them and, to date, I haven't seen any answers to these questions.

In response to those local government concerns though, the State Government did announce $9.25 million for a Local Energy Partnerships initiative to work with landholders and communities so locals benefited first from energy projects in their region.

This follows on from the government's announcement in late September of a 70 per cent renewables target by 2032 as part of the $62 billion Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan which states that 95 per cent of clean energy infrastructure investment is expected to be in regional Queensland.

So, unless there's a dramatic change in policy, there is no stopping the renewables juggernaut and more and more landholders will be faced with the dilemma of 'do they sign on for a renewables project or not'.