Mr Leeson said the 440 MW project, which is slated to begin construction in the final months of 2021, will “change the landscape” of not just Rushworth, but the entire Campaspe region, for the better.
The $520 million project is expected to bring 700 jobs at its peak construction, with another 30 ongoing jobs during its lifespan.
While Mr Leeson said there were some people who objected to the solar farm, most people he’d spoken to in and around Rushworth supported the project.
“There’s a bit of a case of ‘not in my backyard’, and we speak to people and they’re all for renewable energy but they don’t want it next door,” he said.
“That’s the nature of what we do, these projects need to be built somewhere.”
He said Leeson Group had a strong focus on community engagement and community support, but was yet to identify exactly what else could be done with the Old Corop Rd site.
“We can’t identify what they are yet, but at Girgarre we had a really good crop on the land when we bought it.”
He said the Girgarre Development Group had been involved in harvesting the crop and distributing the $20,000 of revenue among community organisations.
He also said research was being done into the best use of the land, which “at worst case” would use sheep grazing under the panels but could go as far as trying to plant grasses that attract bees or help the local biosphere.
Construction is due to start at the end of 2021.
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