A decision on the proposed Meadow Creek Solar Farm is likely to be made prior to VicGrid tabling its draft Grid Impact Assessment report due later this year.

Meadow Creek is not in one of VicGrid's Renewable Energy Zones (REZs), but it appears this will not be an overbearing factor when Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny delivers her decision on the local planning permit application.

VicGrid met with concerned community members last week about the controversial solar facility earmarked for Meadow Creek to help inform its Grid Impact Assessment.

Rural City of Wangaratta Mayor Irene Grant helped coordinate the meeting alongside several members of the Meadow Creek Agricultural Community Action Group (MCACAG), however, she said clarity around the path forward is not much clearer.

"On face value there was a lot of discussion around what community concerns were and the fact that the project goes against the planning scheme," Cr Grant said.

“VicGrid listened to what we had to say, but am I confident that we’ve been appropriately heard - I’m not sure.

“VicGrid has released it’s map of Renewable Energy Zones, which we’re not part of, but they said this would not prevent a development from taking place.

“We’ve asked VicGrid to come back and give a presentation to council so we can get a greater understanding of what all of this means."

While VicGrid and the government are going through the legislative processes to give VicGrid greater powers, due to timing, Cr Grant said it looks like the Meadow Creek proposal will be caught somewhere in between.

“The timing is an issue with this but let’s hope we’re not going to make a decision that’s a bad one simply because there isn’t a process in place,” Cr Grant said.

Cr Grant’s concerns will be magnified if the permit is approved as it will be a decision with long-term impacts considering solar panels have a 25-30 year lifespan and there still isn’t a plan in place to deal with end-of-life panels.

“There is no real understanding what happens at the end of it all,” she said.

“With all of this, council would like the decision to be 'no', simply because it is a proposal we have opposed on strong planning grounds.

“There were a whole lot of guidelines in our planning scheme that it didn’t address, and Goulburn Murray Water and more than 500 people objected to the solar facility on all manner of issues such as biodiversity and environmental as well.

“When you look at what VicGrid is looking at, this is very much still an ad hoc development.

“They were also talking about whether they could accommodate the amount of power that is generated and that is not even clear.

“My three-year-old grandson has more understanding of his toy box than we do with what’s happening (with renewable energy) here in Victoria at the moment.”

Cr Grant said MCACAG members are pretty dispirited and they keep on receiving the same assurances that "we’re hearing you", but they're not taking any notice of you.

MCACAG member Brad Hennessy wrote to the VicGrid's REZ development director Mitch Watson following Friday's meeting.

He reaffirmed all the issues around agriculture, environment, biodiversity, and ecology, urging that transitional provisions under the planning scheme be applied immediately on all current battery and solar applications.

"This would prevent ad hoc development that risks undermining the integrity and intent of the coordinated, long-term plan, delivering the right infrastructure in the right place at the right time," Mr Hennessy said.

Under VicGrid's Victorian Access Regime (a set of conditions that projects must meet to gain access and connect to the Declared Share Network) it will pose caps on new generation capacity in Victorian REZs.

The caps will aim to prevent excessive network congestion, which takes place when part of the network reaches capacity and generators experience reduced output to the market.

The regime will also introduce a Grid Impact Assessment that will apply to projects seeking to connect to the DSN outside REZs (such as Meadow Creek).

VicGrid was contacted for comment but did not respond by the time of publication.