Borambola farmers Pamela and Rick Martin reject Mates Gully Solar Farm scoping report, land quality grading

According to Spark Renewables' scoping report for the Mates Gully Solar Farm, the area earmarked for the project is made up of land with "moderate" and "low" agricultural capability.

The grading has drawn the ire of neighbouring residents Pamela and Rick Martin, who have previously spoken out against the project due to it being a waste of "good, productive land".

"We had a farm plan drawn up back in the late 1980s which classified this land as class two and three ... but now suddenly the scoping report says it is class four or five," Mr Martin said.

The Borambola farmers said the shift from cultivation-focused farming and conservation projects undertaken in the area meant the land quality should have improved over the past 20 years.

"So much landcare has been done on this region ... we've planted over 160,000 trees just to rejuvenate the area," Mrs Martin said.

The classification in the scoping report is required to be drawn from the NSW government's land and soil capability assessment scheme - a statewide map which rates land quality based on factors like drainage, climate and soil type.

Spark Renewables' head of development Will Stone said the details in the scoping report are only a "preliminary assessment" of environmental impacts.

He said the company will be commissioning a "more detailed" agriculture impact statement to examine onsite conditions, which will be made publicly available.

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Mrs Martin claimed the scoping report was built on "assumed and misleading desk top information" which ignores the site being "clearly not suitable" for a solar farm.

If approved, the Mates Gully Solar Farm would see a 460 hectare site just off the Sturt Highway at Borambola filled with enough solar panels to power 90,000 homes each year.

According to Spark Renewables, the property has been chosen as it has "one of the highest irradiance areas in the state" and because of the existing 132 kilovolt power lines that cut through the land, offering a cheap and convenient connection into the power grid.

Mrs Martin believes the project would be more suited to flat, marginal land away from other properties, rather than the rolling hills of Borambola.

"It's on a high elevation and we've got no idea how all the run-off from water coming off the panels will impact erosion, our creeks, our trees, our cropping country," she said.

She also believes the panels will have a huge visual impact on the nearby residents, something which has been recognised by Spark Renewables.

In the scoping report, the company acknowledges the visual concerns of neighbours and says it will address the issue through "landscape management and vegetation screening".

Mrs Martin said the agreed need for mitigation efforts is further evidence of the land being unsuitable for the project.

"If the site was so good, then they wouldn't have to do so much mitigation," she said.

"We all need solar, but if it's not done properly ... we'll end up in a real shambles."

"Food security is just as important as electricity security."

The debate is just the latest chapter in the ongoing saga of renewable energy in the Riverina, which has been fuelled by the massive rise in major solar projects being proposed for the region.

Earlier this year, Wagga MP Joe McGirr called for a moratorium on the approval of solar farms across the state, until the impact of losing "productive farmland" could be properly assessed.

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