There are a lot of sheep on this farm — and with over 600,000 solar panels planned, they’ll have somewhere to shelter

Tasmanian farmer Roderick O’Connor wants to make a mark: to be remembered, just like his ancestors, for taking a chance and pushing the boundaries.

His branch of the O’Connor family was among the first Australian farmers in Van Diemen’s Land in 1824.

Another branch included Feargus O’Connor, a revolutionary in Ireland, while another ancestor fought as a renegade general in South America.

“I thought, well if you look at history, why not keep making a mark? Why not put something on this planet? Mr O’Connor said.

He says the solar farm proposal “says we’re trying to do something on this planet … we’re trying to do something”.

“This one is particularly important to me because it’s renewable energy.”

Over the last 200 years, the O’Connor family built their successful grazing enterprise on the back of wool at Connorville.

Mr O’Connor is hoping to secure at least another 200 years at Connorville on the back of solar energy.

“We’re looking for longevity, we’ve been here for nearly 200 years, how do we guarantee to stay for another 200?”, he said.

The farmer and developers TasRex are planning a 600-hectare crop of 677,000 solar panels that will share the paddocks with some of Mr O’Connor’s 22,000-strong sheep flock.

“We can look after some of the natural element of the pasture and we can provide a bit of habitat for sheep under the solar panels, a bit of shade to shield them — it’s a win-win,” Roderic O’Connor said.

TaxRex chief executive Bess Clark said the project aimed to provide Tasmania’s electricity grid with 288 megawatts — enough electricity to power 70,000 homes.

“At the moment, we exchange energy with mainland Australia sometimes to bring in solar from mainland Australia. We’ll be supporting Tasmanian load with local solar as well, with projects like this.”

For TasRex, the solar farm is a key part of a suite of renewable energy projects.

“We’ve got an ambition to have up to 5 gigawatts of renewables. And that includes onshore solar, onshore wind and offshore wind,” Ms Clark said.

TasRex is also committed to one of two big battery proposals in the northern midlands as well.

Evan Franklin, an energy expert with the University of Tasmania, is excited by the development proposal.

“We’ve been waiting a long time for there to be a large solar farm in Tasmania. We’re equivalent to southern Germany, which is where a lot of solar was first installed, and a lot of places in the world have a similar resource to Tasmania,” Professor Franklin said.

“At the moment, Tasmania imports energy during the middle of the day and a lot of that comes from solar in Victoria,” he added.

He said the Connorville solar project should fill the gap.

However, the question Tasmanians will face, according to Professor Franklin, is whether they are ready for renewable energy projects in their areas, with wind and solar farms and dams all affecting local communities — along with wildlife.

Are people willing to compromise locally for a greener future with renewable energy?

“We have an opportunity to create a lot of new renewable energy projects, to export energy, to help the rest of Australia and the world tackling climate change, but it will require some compromise,” Professor Franklin said.

The Connorville solar farm development application went before the Northern Midlands Council on Monday night and was approved unanimously.