Protesters who have been telling solar farm developers to go to blazes were absent at a Culcairn community session to discuss the latest project on Thursday afternoon.
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While the $636 million, 1039-hectare Culcairn solar farm initially caused angst when it was announced in March 2021, on March 7 townsfolk and farmers from the Riverina community seemed more curious about the 400-odd jobs being offered.
Most locals at Thursday's forum voiced resignation - but support - for the 350 megawatt project.
Operator Neoen and its construction partner Bouygues Australia - which sealed a deal on December 23 to construct the massive solar farm - sent representatives to the Culcairn Bowling Club to tell locals about the 350-400 jobs that would be generated by the venture, both in construction in other areas.
Greater Hume mayor Tony Quinn did not attend the session but told The Border Mail before the forum he did not expect to hear any reports of "a hornets' nest being stirred up".
"I've followed the process all the way along and it's now up to the community to engage with them," he said. "The agro around the anti-solar movement seems to have died down.
"The only problem with each of the solar farms is to get people to work for them, they pay terrific money, but the workforce is not about. I'm still a bit sceptical about renewable energy across the country, but if it works, well, it'll be great."
Culcairn Bowling Club bartender Marcus Simmons said he grew up in Culcairn and that it "was good to see something new happening here".
During the community consultation process, there were 81 supportive submission and 147 objections.
"I've worked here for nine months and this project is what everyone who comes in here talks about," Mr Simmons said.
"People are surprised because this is a big thing, not what you'd really expect in a small town, but most people are talking about opportunities now, I'm not really hearing negative things."
"The talk is there's a lot of jobs on offer there, it's not just construction, so that's what is interesting a lot of people."
Culcairn landowner Philip McCartney who has lived on a 550-hectare property with his partner for nine years, said his land didn't abut the boundary of the solar project.
"We're about three kilometres away, we're on the other side of the railway line, so we're not a direct neighbour," he said.
"I'm not a farmer, but my partner is and I understand how farmers can be concerned about primary agricultural land in taken up for solar farms. I completely understand that but I think it's a moot point because it's going ahead.
"People agree in principle with the idea of having solar farms and green energy, but it's different when a major construction project is in your own backyard.
"I'm not here to protest, just to find out a little bit more about what happens from here - I think we all have to take a pragmatic approach.
"Neoen are giving council $150,000 a year and the local community $150,000 a year, it's a done deal, so now we've got to make the most of it, we've just got to embrace that. That's a huge sum of money coming into the town."
Former art teacher and wildlife lover Gavin Price-Jones, who lives in town, said it "makes perfect sense" for the nation to be powered by solar - but he's not a fan of windmills.
"The only thing I care about is the environment and I believe that renewables have got to be the way forward," Mr Price-Jones said. "I'm supportive of those and I believe solar farms are much less invasive than wind farms - so I'm behind this project.
"We've got a hell of a lot of flat, open spaces where we could set up solar farms, where it's not necessarily invasive, so, unless it's financially restrictive in terms of supplying metro areas, why you wouldn't you have loads of solar farms in the west and rural NSW?
"I believe if they are intelligently placed then they won't create community unrest or any conflict."
Longtime Culcairn local Dave "Davo" Davidson, a shearer, said he was not opposed to harnessing the sun's power and didn't oppose the solar farm.
"I'm not opposed to any renewable energy but it's not going to replace coal-fired power stations or nuclear," he said. "The whole climate change agenda is a scam in my opinion, but, you know, each to their own.
"This project is OK, we may as well use the sun, it blazes away so why not but if China can have more than thousand coal-fired power stations and we can sell our coal overseas, then why can't we have it?"
Travellers Stefania Zvaznabar, from Chile, and Giovana Lo Monaco, from Argentina, travelled the short distance from Walla where they are temporarily employed to Culcairn after hearing about the session "on the grapevine".
"We're just travelling around Australia and loving it, picking up work where we can," Ms Zvaznabar said. "We heard about this got a lift up with some other friends who also wanted to see what kind of work is being offered."
Ms Lo Monaco said they agreed working in waste management at the project would suit them both.
"We've both been to Sydney, but both of us like country towns more," she said. "And Culcairn is a great spot."
Neoen Australia NSW development team leader Emily Walker said the session was being conducted after a long period of community consultation and that the afternoon session was more about what the project was offering the community than addressing any objections.
"Tonight is really about giving an opportunity for members of the public who live near the project to come and find out what the 'final' project will look like," Ms Walker said.
"That is, from the basics, where it's going to be located to what the traffic management plan looks like, but primarily focused on opportunities for people to get involved in the project.
"So whether through that be through direct employment, or as a supplier to the project, there are slides from our construction contractor setting out exactly how many and what people they're looking for."
The commercial operations date for the project will be in April 2026.
