Local news from Wagga and the surrounding Riverina region.
In community.
For community.
Find out more.
Business and technology stories from the Riverina.
For your buying, selling and leasing needs in Wagga
Find out more
The stories behind the people and places that make the Riverina home.
Your life, your lawyers
Contact us now
Music, festivals, charity events – your guide to what’s happening in the Riverina.
For your buying, selling and leasing needs in Wagga
Find out more
The people, places, pets and passions that give our region life.
Ready to hop on your bike and move around the Riverina? Let’s go find your new place.
Where to eat, what to drink in the Riverina.
Ready to hop on your bike and move around the Riverina? Let’s go find your new place.
Thought-provoking pieces written by regional writers and community leaders.
Quality advice and service in residential conveyancing
Book appointment now
Your one-stop destination for the latest Riverina property and real estate news.
Ready to hop on your bike and move to Canberra? Let’s go find your new place.
Sporting news from Wagga and the Riverina region.
Find out what’s on at the theatre
Professor Ivan Kennedy (with walking stick) and Rafe Champion (beige coat) flanked by Wagga farmers at the Kooringal Hotel. Photo: Supplied.
Wagga farmers have vowed to continue to raise concerns about renewable energy projects in the Riverina, after attending a presentation that warned about the risks of silver from solar panels ‘contaminating’ agricultural land.
Professor Ivan Kennedy, a former agricultural scientist and University of Sydney lecturer, and researcher Rafe Champion outlined their concerns and critique of solar farms at a gathering at the Kooringal Hotel last week.
The event was organised by Riverina Farming First, a group of property owners concerned about an exisiting 100 megawatt solar farm in Bomen operated by the company Spark Renewables and a battery energy storage system (BESS) and solar farm to be built at Burkes Creek Road being developed by Green Gold Energy near The Rock.
“If a solar farm is 100 megawatts, it’ll contain several tonnes of silver, which is a toxic heavy metal,” Professor Kennedy said.
“If one per cent of that silver ends up in the soil through leaching or through large hailstorms, that will mean the soil will never be able to be rehabilitated for agricultural purposes … it can lead to serious ‘forever’ contamination of soil, preventing plant growth,” he said.
Mr Champion and Professor Kennedy have been touring rural NSW and Victoria. Photo: Supplied.
Professor Kennedy said authorities were pushing through with solar and wind turbine projects without properly assessing risks or downsides.
“They should be doing risk assessments on what will happen if there’s a major hailstorm that shatters the panels and makes the release of the silver much more likely and how long it will take to repair the material,” he said.
“People are installing these things as if there’s no risk at all. There’s been no research at all. I’m calling for it to be done as soon as possible.”
A spokeswoman for energy company Sparks Renewable, who built the Bomen Solar Farm, refuted the claims that silver from solar panels threatens agricultural land.
“Silver is chemically stable and, once locked within the laminate, cannot be washed out by rainwater or abraded into the ground under normal operating conditions,” she said.
READ ALSO Farmers to hold community forum on solar farms ‘being pushed through’ on Wagga’s prime agricultural land
She said that research funded by the NSW Environment Protection Agency has shown that the environmental risk from metal leaching at operational solar farms is negligible.
“Finally, characterising silver as a ‘forever chemical’ is misleading. Silver is a naturally occurring metal. The term ‘forever chemicals’ refers to PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), a class of synthetic compounds whose carbon–fluorine bonds make them environmentally persistent and problematic.”
Nevertheless, many in attendance at the Kooringal Hotel were impressed by the presentation and felt it raised issues that had not been properly explained or addressed by authorities.
“It was an amazing night, both speakers were so knowledgeable. They were able to show the other side of the story of so-called green cheap energy projects,” retired wheat farmer Annette Wheaton said.
Ms Wheaton said the NSW Farmers Wagga branch sponsored the event. She said she invited Wagga and Junee councils, but the only councillor to attend was Junee’s Cr Ingrid Eydling.
Farmers have also raised concerns about the lack of consultation and information they’ve received from Green Gold Energy, which is developing The Rock solar farm.
Region contacted Green Gold Energy for comment, but it did not respond.
People need to stop blaming the roads and take a good look at their driving practices. View
That is a terrible bridge. My husband had a near miss while driving our truck, some years back, he… View
Carl Chirgwin yes Carl. There was money set aside to realign the road over the bridge and railway… View
Beautiful girl View
So inspiring View
Fantastic work Emily. View
Absolutely! Churches and all-ages sports clubs are always hot spots. Pdfs aren’t rare freaks of… View
Shan Would unfortunately you to right View
U got a new hospital gov needs to spend money for Albury hospital View
It’s only a short drive to Griffith. View
One of Australia’s leading regional chambers of commerce.
Providing immigration law services for business sponsorships, temporary visas and other visa subclasses.
Over 25 years of experience in buying, selling and managing property in Wagga Wagga.
Delivering exceptional projects across a diverse portfolio.
Subscribe to receive the latest local voices straight to your inbox.
Region Media acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land on which we work and report. We pay our respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders past, present and emerging and commit our company to ongoing acts of reconciliation. You can read our Reconciliation Action Plan here.
Copyright © 2026 Region Group Pty Ltd ABN 85 168 887 232. All rights reserved.
region.com.au | regionillawarra.com.au | regionriverina.com.au | regionmedia.com.cn | aboutregional.com.au | capeyorkweekly.com.au | psnews.com.au | thisiscanberra.com | mygungahlin.com.au
Want the best Riverina news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riverina stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

source