Mirani Solar Farm Pty Ltd v Mackay Regional Council & Anor

COURT OR TRIBUNAL

Queensland Planning and Environment Court

DATE FILED (OR FIRST HEARING DATE)

16/07/2017

LITIGATION TYPE

Project Approval - Mitigation

SUBJECT MATTER

Solar energy

REVIEW TYPE

Merits review

SUMMARY

Catchwords: APPEAL AGAINST REFUSAL OF APPLICATIONS – where appellant lodged a series of applications designed to permit the construction of a Major Utility (Solar Farm) – where proposed development would be located on Good Quality Agricultural Land – where proposed use as Major Utility for a limited period of forty years – where proposed utility would be used in conjunction with grazing of sheep – where at end of the forty year term the land would remain good quality agricultural land – where after removal of intended infrastructure land could be used for more intensive agricultural uses

WHERE KEY ISSUES TO BE RESOLVED – whether when assessed against relevant planning instruments should the proposal be approved or refused having regard to the impacts its approval would have upon good quality agricultural land and associated primary production – whether the application should be approved or refused having regard to the desirability or otherwise of renewable energy, the absence of amenity impacts and other matters of public interest

CASE DOCUMENTS

Mirani Solar Farm Pty Ltd v Mackay Regional Council & Anor [2018] QPEC 38; [2018] QPELR 1158