A 200 megawatt solar farm north of Bendigo would not threaten a critically endangered species of quoll, developers say.
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It comes 14 years after a rare spot-tailed quoll was caught near to where South Energy wants to build a 290 hectare solar farm connected to a grid supplying Bendigo and Kerang.
Spot-tailed quolls are the largest marsupial carnivores left in Australia's mainland and one of the main threats to their futre is habitat loss, according to the federal Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment.
"Adult spot-tailed quolls have a territory of up to 500ha. There are few areas where such territories can exist without quolls encountering the effects of humans," it said.
The property is roughly 20 minutes outside of Bendigo and Loddon Shire councillors will sit to deliberate on the solar farm proposal on Tuesday night.
South Energy says it will avoid cutting down vegetation along a nearby creek line and says "wildlife friendly fencing" could help funnel any quolls past the solar arrays other infrastructure that will need to be installed.
It will have to cut down six trees and some patches of vegetation originally planted by a Landcare group to allow optimal amounts of sunlight to hit solar arrays and make the project viable.
The shire's officers have recommended councillors approve the solar bid despite an objector raising concerns about property values and the loss of farmland.
"We need to protect our productive agricultural land from loss due to developments such as this one," Campell's Forest & District Community Action Planning Group said in its objection to the solar farm.
The group was also concerned about the value of surrounding properties and the potential spread of plant and animal pests from dust and machinery entering the site on Pyramid-Yaraberb Road.
South Energy believes pests can be managed once the project is connected to the electricity grid and would have a plan in place, according to a response to the objection prepared by planning consultancy AECOM.
AECOM argued the land was not considered either prime or high quality for agriculture.
"South Energy has consulted with nearby landowners who did not raise concerns in relation to property values," the consultancy told Loddon Shire staff.
It also sited its own research of other Australian projects, which suggested property values did not drop if a solar farm was installed nearby.
South Energy also pledged to spend no less than $20,000 per year on community investment including infrastructure in a bid to give back to the community hosting the solar farm.
The facility would operate for 30 years. As many as six people would be employed full-time to manage it and grass could be kept down by allowing sheep to graze there.
The CF&DCAPG confirmed on Sunday it was satisfied with proposed changes and was no longer objecting.
