Solar industry forum focuses on safety as renewable sector grows

Energy Safe Victoria brought solar farm owners and operators together last week for an industry forum to discuss safety considerations associated with operating large-scale renewable energy facilities, including bushfire mitigation and incident reporting obligations.

The discussion comes as Victoria’s solar sector continues its expansion, with more than 50 large-scale solar farms operating across the state and playing an increasingly important role in electricity generation.

“As our renewable energy sector rapidly develops, safety must remain at the forefront of that growth,” Energy Safe CEO Leanne Hughson said.

“Solar farm owners and operators have important responsibilities when it comes to managing risk and ensuring their facilities operate safely.”

During the forum on Friday 13 March, around 80 participants heard how equipment faults can be better identified and managed, as well as the importance of vegetation management and maintaining effective firebreaks around solar farm infrastructure to minimise potential impacts.

Energy Safe outlined how they support safe operations through industry guidance, inspections and enforcement action where required. The regulator’s Renewable Energy Safety Team also shared insights from their recent site visits, having conducted more than 80 inspections of solar farms across Victoria before and during the 2025-26 summer season.

As part of this approach, Energy Safe directed 8 solar farms to temporarily stop operating in 2025 during periods of high fire danger while they trimmed back overgrown vegetation and put other appropriate safety controls in place.

Officials from the Country Fire Authority (CFA) and Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) also presented at the forum to highlight bushfire risk and emergency response considerations.

“Managing bushfire risk is a shared responsibility across industry, regulators and emergency services,” Ms Hughson said.

“Bringing them all together helps develop a clear understanding of safety expectations and how potential risks can be identified and addressed early.”

In Victoria, solar farm owners and operators have legal obligations relating to safety controls and fire risk mitigation. A breach of these duties carries a maximum penalty of more than $1,778,000 for a corporation under the Electricity Safety Act 1998.

Media contact: April Dudgeon | 0498 188 117 | media@energysafe.vic.gov.au