FAQ'S

General Questions

How will the solar farm project impact the local community?
The solar farm project will help increasing the local economy as workers will relocate to work on this project and contribute to increase the economy in town. This will also be an opportunity for locals to gain employment & local contractors to submit tenders.

Where is the project located?
The project is located at 397 Kingaroy Barkers Creek Road, Kingaroy

What is the size of the project?
The project includes the construction, operation, upgrading and future decommissioning of a 40 MW photovoltaic electricity generating works and associated infrastructure, including grid connection to Ergon Energy zone substation. The project will occupy an overall development footprint with an extent of disturbance for the installation of infrastructure of approximately 118 ha.

How long will construction be conducted on site for?
9 months

What’s the longevity of a solar farm project?
The expected lifespan of a solar farm project is up to 25 to 30 years.

What technologies is Metlen using to build its solar farms?
Metlen is using high quality tracker systems to build its solar farms and the most up to date module technologies.

What is the life cycle of a photovoltaic panel?
The overall lifespan of a solar panel is at least 25+ years with an average annual degradation rate of 0.50%

Will the solar farm reduce my electricity bill?
The electricity generated from the solar farm is transmitted into the electricity grid and alters the supply-demand equation which in turn may put downward pressure on electricity bills

What type of maintenance activities will be conducted after construction?
Weekly, monthly, 6 monthly inspections and tests of mechanical & electrical infrastructure will be conducted along with vegetation management and module cleaning.

Environmental

Is there any impact on flora and fauna?
Prior to vegetation clearance and ground-breaking activities, a pre-clearance survey will be undertaken to ensure vegetation and fauna are properly identified, retained, treated or relocated

Do the photovoltaic panels impacts geology?
Most of solar panels are primarily made from silicon which is the main component in sand. Due to the abundance of silicon in Earth, photovoltaic panels don’t have a negative impact on the environment.

How will the waste be managed on site?
All wastes are disposed of at a licenced Waste Management Centre. Wastes are removed and disposed of in accordance with the Waste Schedule. No waste will be burnt or buried on-site. All wastes removed from the site will be recorded in the Environmental Tracking Register and include details such as type of waste, quantity, whether the waste has been disposed or recycled… Toilet’s facilities comply with all SafeWork QLD requirements.

How will bushfires be prevented/managed during & after construction?
Metlen contribute to initiating and maintaining site preparedness and manage fire risk associated with on-ground activities and can demonstrate knowledge of required bushfire emergency response actions. Metlen employees and subcontractors are qualified and competent in the use of fire-fighting equipment provided at KSF Metlen will conduct emergency response drills as part of emergency response training and preparedness. The purpose of the drills will be to ensure that staff working on site are aware of emergency response protocols and can rehearse and ‘walk through’ the required steps and actions to effectively manage and control bush fire threat on site. A 10m asset protection zone will be provided around the solar farm and is wholly within the KSF site. 20,000 litre water will be supplied with a 65mm storz fitting adjoining the internal property access road within the required asset protection zone. No waste or vegetation is to be burned on site at any time. During Total Fire Ban days, no hot works will be permitted, unless an exemption has been applied for and granted by the QLD RFS. A security team will be on site 24/7 during construction. 

Do solar farms make any noise?
Building a solar farm can be noisy depending on how close are the receptors to the construction site. However, construction will only be undertaken Mondays to Fridays 7:00am to 6:00pm & Saturdays 7:00am to 5:00pm and will limit noise generating construction activities to standard construction hours except where an acceptable acoustic solution can be identified to minimise adverse amenity impacts on Receptors

Will there be much dust generated during construction? If so, how will this be managed/mitigated?
Metlen will monitor daily weather and adjust construction activities to minimise dust generation i.e. during high winds and/or dry conditions. Metlen will also manage dust suppression using a water cart on work areas and stockpiles to prevent dust generation.

Roads & Access

Will solar panels generate glare or glint?
Studies on operational solar farms have demonstrated that photovoltaic panels are designed to reflect minimal light in order to maximise their efficiency. Metlen intend of using equipment designed to
mitigate issues with reflection and glare.

How will you engage local suppliers in the project?
MYT encourages construction partners to procure resources, including labour, materials, transport, accommodation, and food, as much as possible from the local community.  This both engages the community and is more efficient in terms of project delivery.

Are you sourcing the solar panels locally?
Some components of the project will need to be imported, for example solar panels which are not available locally.

How will you make meaningful contributions to the community?
Metlen RSD will be instigating a Community Benefit Fund that is to be used to benefit the wider community as a whole. This funding is to provide services, leisure activities and opportunities for the local community, and we will seek advice from the local Council, and other organisations. The program will provide funds for community projects and initiatives in the area and is administered by MYT

• Sponsorship of local school events
• Support for the Country Fire Services
• Sponsorship of Bacon Fest
• Local emergency services
• Non for-profit organisations

How are you managing the runoff of sediment from the site?
As per Erosion and Sediment Control Plan which implements industrial standard control measures

How are you ensuring that there is minimisation of noise most especially from piling activities?
Solar facilities produce no discernible noise. Although the inverters generate a sound that might be described as a soft hum, with properly functioning inverters this sound is inaudible from the facility boundary. There will be a reasonable amount of noise created during the construction period from various machines and plant. We will only be operating these after 7am and cease work before 6pm daily with limited works on weekends.

What is the program of revegetation of the site?
Revegetation will happen as soon as construction activities are completed sector by sector

What other ways will you protect the visual amenity given the impact of solar farm?
The proposed landscaping plan effectively manages potential visual amenity and reflectivity by providing filtered screening strategically located to curtail any visual impacts along neighboring residential interfaces as well as along the eastern road frontage.  Planting schemes have been prepared as part of detailed design and will be established to provide fast ground and shrub layers to impede direct ground-level line of sight views.

With respect to glare, it is noted that PV panels are designed to absorb light to maximise their input, rather than reflect it. Whilst the array will be visible it is not expected to generate significant glare concerns. Furthermore the use of single-axis tracking where solar PV modules track the sun from east to west means that the angle of incident sunlight on the solar PV modules is relatively perpendicular and results in less

reflection compared to solar PV modules that are placed on fixed structures which do not follow the sun.

What protection, measures are there in the case of there being a fire on site, to ensure that it does not spread?
The site will have a bush fire protection fire break built around it, we also work with the local fire service to regularly update and review our bushfire management system as well as have a dedicated water tank onsite in the event of fire with fire fighting water trailers and equipment. 

Will there be road closures as result of the project?
There will be some minor disruptions and at times the road will be reduced to one lane.

How will you ensure safe access in and out of properties during construction near those properties?
Solar facilities are not traffic generators.

We have a reputable traffic control company generating a TMP for site access which is then reviewed and approved by TMR, we will also have Traffic controllers physically managing the traffic anytime we are working on or near the road.

How will you clean the panels?
it will be done only with distilled/purified water, which leaves zero residue. Our solar projects will not create any contamination to the water or land, unlike residential or other forms of development, which adds the risk of contamination from new/additional septic systems, lawn pesticides, and the like.

What is the maximum operating voltage in this area?
Magnetic Alarm Contact at the gates have a maximum of 24 Volts DC

What is the maximum operating voltage in this area?
Magnetic Alarm Contact at the gates have a maximum of 24 Volts DC

Will there be any chemicals used to wash the panels?
No, it will be done only with distilled/purified water, which leaves zero residue. Our solar projects will not create any contamination to the water or land, unlike residential or other forms of development, which adds the risk of contamination from new/additional septic systems, lawn pesticides, and the like.

How do solar projects impact nearby property values?
A common misconception is that residential property values are negatively impacted due to proximity to solar facilities. 

While the impacts of a solar farm on neighbouring property values have not been studied in-depth, numerous studies found the impact of wind energy generation on neighbouring property values to be negligible.