A proposed solar power site has left a Moruya couple upset and fearful for the future.
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Quentin and Denise Warden moved to the Eurobodalla Shire 27 years ago for its green pastures.
They never expected the rural paddocks next door might one day house 30,000 solar panels.
The Patons Road site is one of three electricity-generating solar farms proposed for the area. The others are at Larrys Mountain Road, Moruya, and Clouts Road, Mogendoura.
The developer Rio Indygen said it would "generate 18,000-Megawatt hours of clean, green electricity every year, without the need to burn any fossil fuels and release potentially climate-changing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere".
Mr Warden said he supported renewable energy and the development of solar farms, but in the "right location".
He said the shire was a well-known peaceful retirement area but he was afraid the land value would decrease if the development went ahead - a claim Rio Indygen rejects.
"(Our property) will be handed over to our kids," Mr Warden said. "How do they on sell the place? Who's going to compensate them?"
Mrs Warden said retiree neighbours would have to put up with the site for the rest of their lives.
"I get upset every time I think about it," she said.
"I want to go, and Quentin wants to stay. I don't want to stay here and look at that for the rest of my life, and he doesn't want to sell it for the devalued price."
The developer said studies in the UK and USA did not show solar farms devalued neighbouring land.
"There is no evidence that proximity to a solar farm affects land values," the developer said.
In the company's visual impact statement, it said the effect on neighbours' views would be "moderate" and it would consider installing visual screens if requested.
The Wardens feared the solar panels would create glare, but a Rio Indygen spokesman said "solar panels absorb light, not reflect it".
The couple also feared an extra traffic on their narrow dirt road during the three-month construction period.
The company predicted "a total of 100 vehicle movements (one way) would occur at the site over the construction period, including 80 semi-trailer and single unit truck visits" and "maximum daily number of movements (one-way) would be 31, including 13 semi-trailer and single unit truck visits".
Mr Warden said the proposal, now the subject of a development application, would set a precedent.
"It's going to affect us majorly, but it could affect the whole shire," he said.
"If this installation is approved, it would set a precedent for any solar installation to be approved on any RU1 land.
"The shire is promoted as a tourist destination. Who would want to drive to an industrial area on their holidays?"
He also said prime pasture land in the shire was already limited.
Mr Warden said the developer did not consult them, apart from sending a letter in December.
In the letter to Mr Warden, managing director David Ashton said he was committed to "involving and engaging the community in the decision-making stage of the process", and planned a question and answer session in early 2019.
A company spokesman told the Bay Post/Moruya Examiner consultation was "ongoing".
