A NEW group wants the Loddon community become better informed about renewables activity in the area and the likely impacts - both positive and negative.
Loddon Valley Renewables Awareness Group has aligned with the Wimmera Mallee Agricultural and Environmental Protection Association.
The move comes as multiple wind farm speculators are in talks with farmers in northern Loddon district, including Pyramid Hill.
The new group says its link with the Wimmera Mallee Association, campaigning against muiltiple renewable energy projects and mineral sands mining, will give “access to all their resources to ensure that residents are fully educated on the risks and the opportunities as these projects roll out around us”. 
Group members issued a statement on Monday saying: “Some local landowners have been approached and have engaged in discussions regarding hosting renewable infrastructure on their properties. 
“We support each person’s right to make the decision that is best for them in their situation. We also support their right to make informed decisions based on facts, and our purpose is to ensure that these facts are available and transparent.  
“We oppose ‘secret deals’ and ‘non-disclosure agreements’ that pit neighbour against neighbour, and believe everyone should be at liberty to inform their friends and neighbours of their intentions - particularly in regard to the potential impact on others in the community.”
Group members have declined to speak publicly this week but say potential hosts “are not offered the opportunity to opt out of signing the non-disclosure form - but you can refuse to sign it.” 
“The ‘developers’ who knock on your door are not in the business of looking after your interests. Like any door-to-door salesmen, their job is to get you to sign a contract. 
“They then get paid and move on, and your agreement could be transferred (sold) several times before it reaches the hand of the company who will eventually decide whether or not to proceed with their ‘option’. 
“If you have agreed to have a caveat put on your property, that is legally binding for up to eighty years. If they decide not to proceed then you get no payments, but the caveat stays put, which could affect your ability to sell the property in the future, or limit the activities you can undertake. 
“The tactics employed can also be questionable in regard to winning over community support. Generous donations to local clubs, once accepted, give ‘implied’ community acceptance, even though very few in the community will be aware of the donation. 
“We know how hard fund-raising can be, and desperate situations can force a decision based on short-term need instead of long-term community cohesion.”
The Loddon Valley group says concerns raised in areas where renewables have been constructed are: negative health impacts; visual impact; noise; environmental impacts (wildlife habitat, migration patterns, bird deaths); land degradation; chemical contamination from shedding micro plastics; livestock access to deteriorating solar panels and wind turbines (MLA identified risk); interruption to agricultural operations and additional compliance requirements; increased fire risk (increased insurance premiums - particularly public liability minimum requirements currently under review); decrease in land value - including on neighbouring properties; cost of decommissioning end of life infrastructure which could fall to the landowner.