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The fight for residents to have a wood pellet mill development moved from a major highway has continued. In 2021, Altus Renewables put forward plans to build a $120m renewable energy plantation along Hutchinson Road, adjacent to the Mount Gambier and Regional Airport. Source: Charlotte Varcoe The Border Watch The initial plan would have attracted a large number of b-double trucks during both day and nighttime with near-by residents raising concerns. Now, Albioma, which purchased Altus Renewables upon its liquidation, has taken another chance at the mammoth project which would utilise wood products from forest floors to create the pellets and turn it into energy. According to the company’s website, the plant would produce 300,000 tonnes of prospective wood pellets per year on a 57-hectare site. Albioma has officially put forward an application for the development on PlanSA without plans being released, something which has marked concern from the District Council of Grant as well as local residents. Elected members opted to stick by its original stance with the pellet mill and requested a fresh CASA assessment against the development and any potential impact on the airport. Council also decided to request a community engagement and representation process as part of the development while continuing its position the development was planned to be in close proximity to the airport and was “not appropriate” for large scale industrial development. The motion – which was passed unanimously – also opted to support the land reverting back to rural zoning in line with council’s previous development plan should the development be unsuccessful. District Council of Grant mayor Kylie Boston said elected members wanted to have the same voice going back to the development yet again. “The development appears to be a bit different, there is no opportunity for representation from the community which is something we have asked our chief executive officer to include because for us sitting here when we are not part of the assessment, we would like to see it fairly done so everyone has a chance at representation,” Ms Boston said. “We are a council which is open for business and for development, we recognise the economic development and high-level investment and employment opportunities which the pellet mill develops, and we are largely in favour of being open for business while also listening to the needs and considerations in terms of the ongoing sustainable operation of the airport.” She said that was why council had requested a new assessment against the development which would include traffic to be managed in accordance with the council’s previous position. “Council is seeking the government to commit to a process of community engagement or representation to ensure local voices can be heard in this matter,” Ms Boston said. “Over everything this is part of what we do as a council, we ask for views from everybody and we should always be seeking that feedback from our community. “The last assessment had a number of representors who put in submissions and although it is closely aligned there may be some changes which the community are interested in or favour for or against and that type of feedback helps to inform the decision and the condition which may be required as part of the assessment.” Local resident and adjacent landowner Barney McCusker said the proposed mill was not in an adequate location, stating he believed it would be better positioned in a secluded forest area. “The process is just another process like burning coal and burning gas to produce heat, to produce steam and it will still produce carbon dioxide,” Mr McCusker said. “It is in the same category which is a green energy process to help save the planet, but it is still producing carbon dioxide and there are only three ways to actually produce electricity without producing carbon dioxide and that is solar, wind and nuclear.” He said should the process be portrayed to be green and reduce carbon footprint; it would be inaccurate. “The product and wood in general is a good way of sequestrating carbon, if we actually grow the trees and cut the timber down and make houses out of it, we are locking carbon into our houses,” Mr McCusker said. “If we took the product off the forest floor and instead of turning it into pellets, we turned it into a product and made a fiber board out of it and put that into our houses, we would also be sequestering carbon.” He said council advocating for community representation and engagement was a positive step in regard to the elected members duty of care to ratepayers. “It is a very clear process, we live in an open, pluralistic society and all these things should be a matter of openness,” he said.

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The Benalla Ensign has stated that it was told by an employee of ForestOne that around 140 jobs would be made redundant at the company’s particleboard manufacturing plant in Benalla. Source: Timberbiz ForestOne is one of the area’s largest employers and the shutdown of the particleboard and dry sawmill would have a great impact on the region even if there were fewer job losses than the stated 140. The company will not confirm how many job losses there would be as they say they are still to determine that. There is also no date set for the closure. In a statement ForestOne managing director Ian Fankhanel said that costs were the main factor that had made it “unviable at the present time to continue making particleboard and drying timber”. The company also said that it was facing increasing governmental and compliance costs plus weak demand, and low market prices also contributed. Mr Fankhanel said that the prices sold in the market are some of the lowest in 20 years with no significant lift in demand on the horizon. High freight costs to interstate locations meant the company had been focused on selling within Victoria but Mr Fankhanel said it was the worst performing state in the country. ForestOne will continue to run its green sawmill manufacturing and lamination line and hoped that in the future if demand returned it could start up full production again.

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