Stop Venn Energy
Boree Solar Project Opposition · Geurie NSW
Boree · Lambruk · Cooba
Venn Energy's Australian Projects — and the Communities Opposing Them
Spanning close to 4,000 hectares across three states, Venn Energy’s proposed Solar Projects have left a trail of blindsided landholders, inadequate consultation, and organised community resistance.
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The Cooba Solar Project Was Approved in June 2025 — Despite Community and Council Opposition
Venn Energy's Cooba Solar Project in Victoria was fast-tracked by the Victorian Planning Minister despite objections from Campaspe Shire Council and hundreds of community members. This is what happens when the formal submission window is missed. Boree and Lambruk communities must not make the same mistake — lodge your formal EIS objection when the window opens.
~4,000ha
Total land across three Australian proposals
1,250MW
Total proposed solar capacity across three sites
3 states
NSW, NSW & Victoria — all facing community opposition
0–5%
Venn's intended equity stake after approvals are granted
EIS In Preparation
Boree Solar Project
Central West NSW
Venn Energy's most recent Australian proposal — and the one with the most time remaining to act. The Boree Solar Project covers 1,322 hectares of RU1 Primary Production land north of Geurie, approximately 21km south-east of Dubbo. It was announced in early 2025, months after the Lambruk and Cooba communities had already been fighting for years.
The community's response has been swift. Over 1,000 people have joined the Stop Boree Solar Project Facebook group. The campaign has generated coverage across The Land, Daily Liberal, and Central Western Daily. And critically, the EIS has not yet been publicly exhibited — the formal submission window is still ahead.
This is the only Venn Energy Australian project where community opposition can still formally influence the planning outcome. The Cooba approval — granted despite significant opposition — is the clearest possible signal that the EIS submission window must not be missed.
Boree Solar Project
Site area
1,322 hectares
Capacity
250MW solar + 800MWh BESS
Land zoning
RU1 Primary Production
LGA
Dubbo Regional Council
Announced
Early 2025
EIS status
SEARs issued — EIS in prep
Approval pathway
NSW State Significant Development
Proposed operation
From 2029 (30 years)
Community Opposition
- 1,000+ members in Stop Boree Solar Project Facebook group
- Coverage across The Land, Daily Liberal, Central Western Daily
- Cited in NSW Legislative Council REZ inquiry evidence (May 2025)
- Dubbo Regional Council not formally consulted before announcement
- EIS submission window not yet open — action still possible
EIS Submitted — Exhibition Approaching
Lambruk Solar Project
North West NSW · Tamworth Region
The Lambruk Solar Project near Loomberah, 15km south-east of Tamworth, has been in planning since November 2022 — making it the most advanced of Venn Energy's NSW proposals. A 1,530-hectare site covering primary production and rural small lot land, it would install up to 850,000 solar panels just metres from homes, a primary school, and the Loomberah church and memorial hall.
The Loomberah community has been organised and vocal for over three years. The Loomberah Family & Farmland committee formally opposed the project during the scoping phase. Community members attended a Venn Energy consultation in October 2025 and left feeling unheard — their questions about compensation went unanswered and the company dismissed opposition as unrepresentative of broader community views.
The EIS was submitted in December 2025 and is now awaiting public exhibition. The Lambruk community is approaching the most critical phase of its campaign — the formal submission window. The Boree community should watch this closely and prepare accordingly.
If you are from the Lambruk community: contact the Loomberah Family & Farmland committee or Local Passion United Voice. If you are from Boree, connect with the Lambruk campaign — their experience of the EIS process is directly applicable to what Geurie will face.
Lambruk Solar Project
Site area
1,530 hectares
Capacity
500MW solar + 300MW BESS
Location
Loomberah, 15km SE of Tamworth
LGA
Tamworth Regional Council
Announced
November 2022
EIS status
December 2025
Approval pathway
NSW State Significant Development
Proposed operation
From 2026 (if approved)
Community Opposition
- Loomberah Family & Farmland (LFF) committee — formal opposition submitted to DPHI
- Loomberah No Solar Action Group — "No Solar Panels on Prime Farmland" signage across the district
- 59 landholders facing potential property value losses
- Community consultation described as "butting heads against a brick wall"
- Allied group: localpassionunitedvoice.com
- EIS submitted December 2025 — exhibition window approaching
Approved June 2025 — A Warning
Cooba Solar Project
Central Victoria · Heathcote Wine Region
Cooba is the cautionary tale that every Boree and Lambruk community member needs to understand. Venn Energy's 1,147-hectare Cooba Solar Project near Colbinabbin — in Victoria's Heathcote wine region — was approved by the Victorian Planning Minister in June 2025, despite:
- Formal opposition from Campaspe Shire Council
- Opposition from all winemakers within 10km
- 60+ residents and business owners on record opposing
- Parliamentary opposition from multiple Liberal and National MPs
- A Victorian Parliament petition against the project
The Victorian Government used the Development Facilitation Program to fast-track approval — a mechanism that bypasses standard community consultation timelines. The community had fought for over 29 months and still lost.
The lesson for Boree: community opposition alone is not enough. Formal EIS submissions — individual, in your own words, through the NSW Planning Portal — are the only mechanism with legal weight in the approval process. Every unique submission counts.
Cooba Solar Project
Site area
1,147 hectares
Capacity
500MW solar + 300MW BESS
Location
4.5km south of Colbinabbin, VIC
LGA
Campaspe Shire Council
Approval
Approved June 5, 2025
Approving authority
Victorian Planning Minister
Mechanism
Development Facilitation Program
Proposed operation
From 2027 (30 years)
Approved Despite Opposition
- Campaspe Shire Council formally opposed — overruled by state government
- All winemakers within 10km opposed — 700,000 panels 30m from premium vines
- 29 months of community opposition — not enough to stop approval
- Victorian Parliament members raised formal objections in Hansard
- Construction underway — community now focused on compliance monitoring
Strength in Numbers
Why a Coordinated National Response Matters
Three communities, three states, one developer. Venn Energy's Australian projects share the same playbook: lease land before consulting neighbours, provide inadequate notification, refuse broad community meetings, and pursue approval through state-level mechanisms that bypass local councils.What Loomberah learned about the EIS process in 2023 is directly applicable to Geurie in 2025. What the Colbinabbin community's 29-month fight against Cooba revealed about political pressure and its limits is a lesson both NSW communities need to absorb.A coordinated response — sharing legal learnings, media contacts, political relationships, submission strategies, and campaign tactics — is exponentially more powerful than three isolated local campaigns.
Shared legal and planning intelligence
Each community's experience of the EIS process — what worked, what didn't, what the assessors focused on — is directly transferable. Lambruk is ahead of Boree in the process by two years.
National media reach
Three communities opposing the same Canadian developer across three states is a national story. One community is a local issue. The Land, ABC Rural, and national outlets respond to scale.
Political weight
MPs from NSW and Victoria are already on record opposing Venn Energy projects. A coordinated national briefing to federal agriculture and energy representatives is far more compelling than individual electorate letters.
Shared campaign resources
Submission templates, media releases, legal advice, mapping resources, and community support networks — all of these are more efficiently developed and shared than built separately by each community.
A Consistent Pattern
How Venn Energy Operates — Across All Three Sites
1
Lease land before consulting neighbours
In every case, Venn Energy secured land leases before conducting social impact assessments or contacting neighbouring landholders. The community learns of the project after the commercial commitment is already made.
Confirmed: Boree, Lambruk, Cooba — The Land, May 2025
2
Notify via unsealed letters with inadequate maps
Notifications arrive as letters or flyers with small-scale maps providing little clarity on which properties are affected or by how much. Requests for clearer information are delayed.
Confirmed: Boree (The Land, Oct 2025) — consistent with Cooba pattern
3
Refuse broader community meetings
Venn Energy consistently limits formal meetings to small groups of directly affected landholders and refuses broader community engagement forums. Opposition groups describe consultations as “butting heads against a brick wall.”
Confirmed: Boree (refused >4 landholders), Lambruk (Oct 2025 consultation)
4
Dismiss opposition as unrepresentative
Venn Energy’s public statements consistently characterise organised community opposition as not fully representing community views, and suggest unheard supportive voices exist — without producing them.
Venn Energy spokesperson statements, Lambruk — Oct 2025; Cooba — multiple instances
5
Intend to sell equity after approvals
The company developing and consulting communities is not the company that will own and operate the project. After approvals, an unidentified purchaser takes over — the community’s long-term relationship is with an unknown future owner.
Confirmed: Venn Energy stated intent to sell equity down to 0–5% post-approval across all Australian projects — The Land, May 2025
6
Pursue state-level approval to bypass councils
All three Australian projects are structured to bypass local council approval. In Victoria, the Development Facilitation Program was used to fast-track Cooba over council objections. In NSW, SSD status removes council from the decision chain entirely.
Cooba: Victorian Planning Minister approved June 2025. Boree/Lambruk: NSW SSD pathway.
Cooba Was Approved. Boree Doesn't Have to Be.
The EIS submission window is the community’s only formal mechanism. Don’t miss it.