But when news broke that Photon Energy Australia had been quietly going about seeking approval for a $145 million project to install almost 400,000 solar panels on a 203 hectare property at Brewongle, it sent residents into a spin.

Many people who live near the site claim they were not contacted by Photon to advise them of the potential development.

Others have accused Photon of not considering how important agricultural land was, along with the ability to graze it at full production.

This tight-knit community is now fighting the project’s approval and to save the “prime agricultural land”.

Margie Locke is a fifth generation sheep and cattle farmer who lives just two kilometres from the site.

“Our main concerns, and it’s looking at a big picture as well as us here locally, is going onto prime agricultural land,” she said.

“Prime agricultural land is a finite resource, it’s one of our greatest green assets.

“We’re not opposed to solar because for future generations that is a must, but protecting our prime agricultural land is as well.”

Photon has previously told the Western Advocate that grazing could still occur amid the solar panels.

Mrs Locke agreed that this could happen, but said that animal numbers would have to be drastically reduced.

She said work health and safety and animal welfare issues would then occur due to the number of solar panels and the inability to move freely around the site.

Peta and Liam O’Hara live just 500 metres from edge of the proposed power plant and they said it would be “heartbreaking” if it was approved.

“They [Photon] said ‘we will plant trees around it, you’ll never see it’, [but] it’s such a massive project … of course you’re going to see it,” Mrs O’Hara said. “It’s going to be surrounded by 2.4 metre barbed wire fences.”

Mr O’Hara said he has spoken to five separate real estate agents who claim land values will decrease if the power plant is approved.

Maureen and Viv Press live around 50 metres from the site and say it will “impact on us severely” as they will “look right out over it”.

Mrs Press acknowledged that a drop in land productivity would not impact her and other nearby residents, but said in the long term it would effect productivity for the nation as a whole.

The Brewongle community have invited the public to a community meeting on Monday, November 27 at 6.30pm at Paddy’s Hotel.