A consultant has raised serious concerns about bushfire risk from the planned solar farm at Uriarra Village, warning power lines should be underground and a bank of screening trees pushed back at least 155 metres.
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A fire in the planned five hectares of tree screening along Brindabella Road could block the way in and out for residents and emergency services in the short-term while a fire burned and smoke persisted, consultant Helen Bull, of Obliqua, said.
A fire in the trees would likely spread into the village under high fire danger conditions, she warned. She recommended a gap between the road and a screening of at least 155 metres to keep the radiant heat impact on the road below the maximum safety level for firefighters.
Ms Bull, who has also reported on Victorian bushfire risks for the state government, was commissioned by Uriarra residents, who oppose the siting of the 27-hectare solar array directly across Brindabella Road.
The company involved, Elementus Energy, plans a bank of screening trees to partially block views, but has resisted calls to site the solar array elsewhere on the block of land.
The development includes a 4.3-kilometre overhead power line past the village and out to the Cotter substation.
Ms Bull's report said overhead electricity was a significant contributor to bushfires. In Victoria, the bushfire taskforce had recommended rapid earth fault current limiters on 22-kilovolt power lines to reduce the likelihood of bushfires by 70 per cent. Underground power lines reduced the likelihood of electricity-related bushfires by 99 per cent. Elementus had not said what bushfire mitigation it planned for the power lines, but at least near the village they should be underground, she said.
When the village was rebuilt after the 2003 bushfires, the government insisted power lines connecting to homes be underground. It also mandated sprinklers for all homes and a clear zone around the village.
Ms Bull said the village was still vulnerable to fire, with limited ways in and out, limited firefighting resources, limited water, and a travel time of more than 20 minutes from the fire brigade. It relied on the grazing land to the north, where the solar farm is to be built, to provide a low-fuel zone.
In the past three summers, periods of very high fire danger - the level at which grass and bushfires burn out of control - had occured on an average of 21 days a year. A fire that started at the Uriarra Crossing picnic area four kilometres north in such conditions could reach the solar farm in just 17 minutes, well before help, and fires that began in forested areas could reach intensities that might not be able to be attacked directly. Embers could spot into the area well before a fire front.
The solar array would restrict the ability for backburning, Ms Bull said. And she pointed out that power was disconnected during firefighting to avoid electrocution but solar systems were live whenever there was light. The safety of water-bombing should also be considered.
Elementus managing director Ashleigh Antflick has rejected concern about the power lines, saying the grid connection was "fundamentally and significantly different" to the type recommended against by the Victorian royal commission. It was a three-phase design "with proven protection and switch design", he said.
ActewAGL had a high-voltage feeder that followed the same route and powered the village, and Elementus had consulted ActewAGL about safety and performance.
"The proposed grid connection will not introduce a new bushfire risk into the area," Mr Antflick said.
The Liberals' Andrew Wall said the report confirmed residents' concerns, and the power lines disregarded best practice. ''This report again highlights the risks the ACT Labor government is willing to take in its ideological pursuit of renewable energy,'' he said.
