He has joined Brewongle residents in their fight to stop the approval of Photon Energy Australia’s 203 hectare solar power plant being constructed just seven kilometres to the south-east of Bathurst.

Mr Brown, who is with the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, addressed State Parliament on Tuesday and said he was determined to “protect our productive agricultural land”.

The approval process to construct an estimated 397,576 north-facing photovoltaic (PV) panels on the Brewongle site was being considered by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment as it has been deemed a State Significant Development.

Mr Brown told parliamentarians that the solar panels would not allow current agricultural practices to continue.

“I do not believe claims that animals can continue to graze around such an installation. Current practice demonstrates that this is the case,” he said.

“I am not sure how they would feel about livestock grazing under a solar farm where the thermal flux around each panel can reach hundreds of degrees celsius.”

Mr Brown said Brewongle residents were also concerned about the company structure of Photon Energy Australia.

“They fear that in the event of a mishap with the solar farm … the company will cease trading and simply hide behind a complex structure,” he said.

Mr Brown said he had no concerns about renewable energy “other than its inherent unreliability”.

“Given our current energy crisis, the government urgently needs to consider how it will replace the 1000 megawatt baseload gap of Liddell power station when it closes in 2022,” he said.

“Seven 146 megawatt Brewongle solar arrays would not cut it; they do not do the job.

“Unfortunately, the solar farm at Brewongle will produce less than 10 per cent of what we need to replace Liddell and will potentially destroy what the farmers in that area regard as prime agricultural land.”