The Rubicon Valley — one of Victoria’s most beautiful rural and tourism destinations — is under threat.

A proposal by SREA (part of the international Samsung Conglomerate) seeks to construct an industrial-scale solar farm and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in this high-risk bushfire region. Samsung’s sustainability and ethical record around the world is deeply concerning, and this project puts profits before people, safety, and the environment.

Rubicon sits in a severe bushfire zone, surrounded by dense forest and steep terrain. Our district lacks the resources to contain a transformer or lithium battery fire — an event that would endanger residents, tourists, and the hundreds of children attending nearby school camps. There’s only one road in and out.

This project also threatens our waterways, fishing areas, wildlife, and tourism industry, while destroying the rural landscape that makes Rubicon unique. Locals have not been properly consulted, and risk assessments remain inadequate or unavailable.

 
We’re asking decision-makers to:
Reject outright the Rubicon Solar Farm and BESS proposal by SREA (Samsung);
Commission an independent review into the fire, environmental, and community safety risks of large-scale renewables in bushfire-prone regions;
Ensure future renewable projects are safely located, transparent, and community-supported.
 
Let’s protect Rubicon — our people, our land, and our future.
Sign and share this petition to show that renewable energy must never come at the cost of community safety, natural heritage, and local wellbeing.