Murra Warra Solar Project

XURBAN XURBAN Murra Warra Solar Project Landscape & Visual Assessment For: RES Australia Pty Ltd October 2017 | FINAL XURBAN Murra Warra Solar Project Landscape & Visual Assessment Client RES Australia Pty Ltd Project No 15067 Version FINAL Signed Approved by Allan Wyatt Date 18 October 2017 XURBAN Suite 1103 | 408 Lonsdale Street | Melbourne 3000 | Victoria | Australia ABN | 18831715013 Landscape & Visual Assessment i XURBAN Table of Contents Executive summary iv 1. Introduction 1 Report approach 1 2. Project description 2 PV Modules & solar arrays 4 Control room and storage shed 6 Solar overhead system collector corridor 6 Access tracks 6 3. Visual impact methodology 7 Assessment criteria – publicly accessible viewpoints 7 Scale of Effects 8 Residential viewpoints 8 Seen area analysis 9 Photomontages 9 4. Viewshed and Zones of Visual Influence 10 Viewshed calculations 10 5. Planning policy 12 State Planning Policy Framework 12 Planning Schemes 12 The Western Victoria Landscape Assessment Study 13 6. Landscape units 15 Topography 15 Vegetation 15 Land use 15 Landscape Units 15 Landscape Unit 1 - Agricultural land 15 Landscape & viewer sensitivity 16 7. Landscape & visual impact assessment 17 Residential impact 18 8. Henty Highway 19 Viewpoint H1 – Henty Highway#1 19 Viewpoint H2 – Henty Highway#2 20 Landscape & Visual Assessment ii XURBAN 9. Local roads 21 Viewpoint L1 – Dimboola Minyip Rd / Exells Road 21 Viewpoint L2 – Old Minyip Road 22 10. Residential impact 23 11. Conclusion 24 Table of figures Figure 1 Solar arrays (Map source: Spatial Vision, north west Victoria) 3 Figure 2 Solar Project location (Map source: Google Earth Pro) 3 Figure 3 Solar overhead collector system corridor (Source: Res) 4 Figure 4 Solar arrays – tracker array (Source: Res) 5 Figure 5 Solar arrays – fixed array (Source: Res) 5 Figure 6 Solar overhead collector system corridor (Source: Res) 6 Figure 7 Assessing the visual impact 7 Figure 8 Horizontal field of view 10 Figure 9 Vertical field of view 10 Figure 10 Solar project location within WVLAS (Draft) 13 Figure 11 Significant views & significant landscapes (WVLAS) 14 Figure 12 Viewpoint locations (Map source: Google Earth Pro) 17 Figure 13 Viewpoint H1 19 Figure 14 Viewpoint H2 20 Figure 15 Viewpoint L1 -looking south and west 21 Figure 16 Old Minyip Road 22 Landscape & Visual Assessment iii XURBAN Executive summary The Murra Warra Solar Project is situated in a landscape that has a low sensitivity to change. It is a broad-acre rural landscape that has been cleared to create huge areas for farming. The Landscape Assessment Study refers to this landscape character type as ‘Big Plains’ and this is illustrative of its character. The flat topography and the extensive clearing has created a large landscape, a landscape which can accommodate proposed solar project. Areas of greater sensitivity including all the urban areas, are all situated at some distance from the solar project, Horsham is more than 30 km from the edge of the solar facility. The Planning Schemes also reflect the very limited significance given to landscapes within the viewshed. Important natural landscapes are well outside the viewshed. The Grampians are over 45 km to the south and Mt Arapiles is more than 55 km to the south west. The Little Desert National Park, lie approximately 50 km away. There would be no visual impact on these landscapes. The closest conservation area is the Barret Flora and Fauna Reserve which is more than 4 km to the north west of the solar facility. At this distance, there would be negligible to nil visual impact. The greatest overall visual impact from publicly accessible locations, whether highways, or local roads, has been assessed as negligible. Negligible is defined in the Visual Impact Methodology (Chapter 3) as a “minute level of effect that is barely discernible over ordinary day-to-day effects..” This describes the impact of the proposed solar project in this Wimmera landscape. The following landscape and visual assessment sets out how these conclusions were derived and shows that this is an appropriate location for a solar project. Landscape & Visual Assessment iv XURBAN 1. Introduction RES Australia Pty Ltd is seeking a planning permit for the proposed Murra Warra Solar Project which is to be located to the north of Horsham in the Wimmera district of north west Victoria. The Murra Warra Solar Project is located adjacent to land that has been granted a planning permit for the Murra Warra Wind Farm which comprises 116 wind turbines which could be to a maximum tip height of 220 m. It is within a landscape that can accommodate these structures, that the solar project is proposed. XURBAN has been engaged by RES Australia Pty Ltd to undertake this landscape and visual assessment of the proposed Murra Warra Solar Project. Report approach This report has been prepared in accordance with the Application Requirements of Clause 52.42-2, which requires an application for a renewable energy facility to be accompanied by an assessment of the development in the context of the surrounding area and from key public view points. The following report seeks to discuss the landscape and visual impact implications of the proposed Murra Warra Solar Project within this Wimmera landscape. This report will firstly describe the visual components of the proposed Murra Warra Solar Project as it is the size, scale and spread of the solar project that determines its viewshed. After determining the appropriate viewshed and the various zones of visual influence, this report will then examine the Planning Controls which apply to the land within the viewshed and describe the landscape units within the viewshed. After ascertaining the landscape character types and their sensitivity to change, indicative viewpoints within the viewshed are selected to assess the on-ground visual and landscape impacts of the proposed sola project. Landscape & Visual Assessment 1 XURBAN 2. Project description The project will consist of a Solar PV facility of up to 235MW AC arranged as either a series of fixed or tracker arrays. The arrays consist of approximately 900,000 1 mx2 mx0.05 m PV panels mounted on steel or aluminium racking. The PV modules for a fixed array are arranged to face north, however, for a tracker array, the modules are arranged north to south with the panels tilting around a centre rail to follow the sun’s trajectory throughout the day. There will be a number of 7 m wide graded tracks across the site to allow all weather access for construction and operational maintenance. There will be a small control building and warehouse / maintenance building at the entrance to the site. Power from the panels will be inverted from direct current(DC) to alternating current (AC)and then transformed to 33 kV and transported back to a central collector point located in the northwest of the site close to the location of the control building and maintenance facilities. Power will then be carried along a double circuit 33 kV line which runs north then west (2 km in total) of the solar farm to the site of the proposed Terminal Station for Murra Warra Wind Farm. There will be a metering point and some reactive power plant at the terminal station. Power will then be exported to the grid via the wind farm 33 kV to 220 kV transformer. The project will also include a battery storage facility which will comprise of banks of lithium ion batteries and associated transformers, invertors and control equipment. This facility will be located in a separate secure area adjacent to the terminal station. Batteries and associated equipment will be housed in a purpose-built building. The project may include some stock proof fencing of up to 2 m height and CCTV camera depending on the Solar Farms Insurance requirements. There will be up to three temporary construction compounds across the site which will house laydown areas, batch plant, offices etc. These facilities will be removed once work has been completed and the land rehabilitated. Noise producing equipment will comprise of up to 90 inverter/transformer units which will be distributed throughout the solar farm with an expected capacity of not exceeding 2500 KVA (Dependant on final design selection). Other noise producing equipment will be a 6 kW air- conditioning units located on each battery storage unit. The Murra Warra Solar Project is located on the south side of the Dimboola Minyip Road and to the west of the Henty Highway. Figure 1 shows the location of the proposed solar arrays on the south side of the Dimboola Minyip Road. Landscape & Visual Assessment 2 XURBAN Figure 1 Solar arrays (Map source: Spatial Vision, north west Victoria) The site where the solar arrays are to be located is that area bordered by a red outline and shaded yellow in Figure 1. Apart from the solar arrays, the solar project also includes a overhead collection corridor. Figure 2 shows the location of the proposed solar arrays and the solar overhead electrical system corridor and their location west of the Henty Highway superimposed on an aerial photograph. Figure 2 Solar Project location (Map source: Google Earth Pro) In Figure 2 the red area designates the location of the solar arrays and the blue outline shows the overhead collector system corridor. Landscape & Visual Assessment 3 XURBAN PV Modules & solar arrays The PV modules arranged as either a series of fixed or tracker arrays. • The PV modules for a fixed array are arranged to face north. • The PV modules in a tracker array, are arranged north to south with the panels tilting around a centre rail to follow the sun’s trajectory throughout the day. Either the fixed array or the tracker array will utilise approximately 900,000 1m x 2m x 0.05m PV modules mounted on steel or aluminium racking.

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