Why has the Response to Submission (RTS) phase of the Springdale Solar project been allowed to drag on for so long without any valid reasons or evidence being shown by Renew Estate that explains what the hold up is?

The SSAG’s has been attempting to find out about the RTS for over 12 months and the latest communication from DPIE has now suggested a possible course of action for the New Year. But before we share that with you, here is the list of communications between the SSAG and the DPIE.

The Springdale EIS public exhibition period opened on 18 July 2018, and closed on 29 August 2018.

• 5 December 2018, 98 days after close of submissions SSAG contacted DPIE re the RTS
• DPE responded and said Renew Estate had contacted the Department a week or so ago and said that Renew Estate would not get back to DPE before Christmas. DPE indicated Renew Estate would likely respond with the RTS towards the end of January 2019 as they were still working on the additional archaeological survey work.
• 24 January 2019, 148 days post close of submissions
  Second time SSAG contacted DPE about progress of the RTS
• 29 January 2019, DPE responded and said Renew Estate was still preparing the RTS
• 11 April 2019, 225 days post close of submissions
  Third time SSAG contacted DPE about progress of the RTS
• DPE responded and SSAG was told, the DPE would not be contacting Renew Estate and that Renew Estate was still working on the additional archaeological survey. DPE also said the SSAG could contact Renew Estate if we wanted more information.
• 4 October 2019, 401 days post close of submissions
  Fourth time SSAG contacted DPIE about progress of the RTS
• 24 October 2019, DPIE contacted SSAG and informed us they had contacted Renew Estate and the completion of additional archaeological survey was the reason for the delay of the RTS. Renew Estate advised the DPIE that the RTS would be provided by late November 2019.
  DPIE also emphasised the importance of keeping the community informed and requested that Renew Estate provide an update on the project to the community.
• 4 December 2019, 462 days post close of submissions
  Fifth time SSAG contacted DPIE about progress of the RTS
  SSAG also asked the DPIE what happens next if Renew Estate doesn’t lodge the RTS?
• 19 December 2019, DPIE responded and informed the SSAG that the RTS HAD NOT been lodged.
  DPIE also informed the SSAG that they had been in contact with Renew Estate and reiterated the importance of keeping the community updated. Renew Estate advised the DPIE that a project update would be provided before the end of year.
  DPIE also stated they will consider the next steps in the new year, including finalising the assessment of the project in the absence of receiving a RTS or any material updates on the status of the project.
• 20 December 2019, 478 days post close of submissions
  Sixth time SSAG contacted the DPIE about progress of the RTS
  The SSAG acknowledged the possible finalisation of the project as indicated by DPIE as both reasonable and appropriate given the circumstances.
  The SSAG also stated that a review of the DPIE Major Projects showed that the average timeframe for assessing the 41 solar developments approved since 2010 was 138 days (from close of submissions to determination). As of 5 January 2020, it is 494 days since submissions closed for the Springdale solar project, and the RTS hasn’t even been lodged. THIS IS 356 DAYS ABOVE THE DPIE AVERAGE.
• 23 December 2019, Renew Estate emailed only seven people, NOT the community, with this message:
  … ” We wanted to let you know that Renew Estate has been continuing to progress the development of the Springdale solar farm and the other projects we are developing in NSW.  
  
  We remain committed to the development of the Springdale Solar Farm. Together, with our partners we expect to complete the project’s additional planning studies in early 2020.
  
  We anticipate being able to make further detailed announcements on the development pathway for the project in the new year...”

This is Renew Estate’s idea of a project update. After 16 months this is all they offered. Do they expect the seven people they emailed to act as a spokesperson for their company? This just shows Renew Estate’s continued contempt for our community .

The completion of additional archaeological studies was used as the reason for the delay of the RTS in December 2018, April 2019 and again in October 2019. While the SSAG encourages thorough assessment practices, surely if an additional 10 months has not helped finalise these studies then Renew Estate should be explaining to DPIE why not.

Bearing in mind that the additional archaeological studies is only one issue that required a response, what about the numerous other issues that also require responses? What is the status of those?

Having said that, the SSAG doesn’t know what all the issues are? We expect that as part of the assessment process a summary of all issues raised in submissions would have been collated by the DPIE, otherwise how would they know if Renew Estate has addressed all the issues raised?

The SSAG has also discovered that the DPIE has now issued formal respond to submission requests to two solar project developers. One of those, the Jindera project where submissions closed on 13 November 2019, received 117 submissions, of those 106 were from the general public. This developer has been given 52 days to provide a RTS. See link below: https://www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/major-projects/project/9811

In light of this new discovery the SSAG firmly believes our community is not being unreasonable in asking the DPIE to bring about a solution to the uncertainty of the RTS for the Springdale solar project. Renew Estate has already had 494 days in which to respond.

The SSAG has also been liaising with our Local Member, Wendy Tuckerman MP about our ongoing struggle, and the SSAG will be meeting with her on 10 February 2019.

The SSAG continues to work for the community and will keep you posted of any new developments.