Miriam Vale Community Partnership Program

The proposed Miriam Vale Solar Farm and BESS projects will employ local people and procure goods and services from local businesses. We will also support regional emergency services, as required.

As part of our project planning, we recently asked the community to give us their ideas about other ways we can make tangible, long-lasting contributions to the local community through our Community Partnership Program.

During this consultation, which closed on 23 May, 2025, the State Government introduced the Planning (Social Impact and Community Benefit) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025. A key component of the Bill is the requirement for PEP to undertake a Social Impact Assessment for the Solar Farm and enter into a Community Benefit Agreement (CBA) with Gladstone Regional Council. We will seek to understand how our Community Partnership Program can be incorporated into the CBA and use feedback we have received from the community to guide our CBA discussions with the State and Council.

We always welcome feedback, so if you have ideas about how we can add value to the community, please let us know by emailing us at info@miriamvalebess.com.au or calling 1800 975 039.

Neighbour Programs

PEP’s place-based Neighbour Programs aim to ensure people living closest to our projects benefit as much as possible from them. We develop these programs in consultation with our site neighbours so benefits suit the needs and preferences of local people. You can read more about our Neighbour Programs here.

We will work directly with our Miriam Vale site neighbours to develop a local program.

Keeping the community informed

PEP is committed to working collaboratively with the local community as our Miriam Vale projects progress through development, construction, operation and eventually decommissioning.

We have started engaging with local landowners, the Port Curtis Coral Coast Group (PCCC), Gladstone Regional Council and the broader Miriam Vale community. This has included several meetings as well as community and supplier information sessions.

We will continue to notify the community about our future information sessions.

Listening to the community

PEP is committed to listening to the community and using feedback to adjust our planning where possible. We have made the following changes based on community input:

  • Fast-tracking project design plans and studies to give the community information earlier in the Project development cycle.
  • Promising to upgrade Burgess Road (from the Blackmans Gap Road intersection to the site access) to gravel standard prior to construction.
  • Avoiding local water bore use, where possible, to address neighbour concerns.
  • Updating visual impact assessments to incorporate neighbour feedback.
  • Updating our Bushfire Management Plan, Traffic Impact Assessment, Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment, and Emergency Response Plans to address community feedback.
  • Adjusting first-fire-response plans to reduce reliance on the local volunteer fire service in the unlikely event of a fire.
  • Ensuring technical specialists attend community information sessions where relevant to talk directly to locals.
  • Using lessons learned from the past to deliver more timely and transparent information to the community.

 

Read our Project FAQs arrow-right

Employment and
Contracting Opportunities

PEP is committed to ensuring the Miriam Vale Solar Farm and BESS have a positive impact on the local economy by prioritising employment of local people and procuring goods and services from local businesses where possible. We will also support small businesses to tender for contracts. 

To register your interest in local business and employment opportunities, visit the Gladstone Engineering Alliance portal . 

More information will be made available closer to the start of the tender period.