The land to the west of Glen Innes which he represents is one of the strongest sites for wind and solar farms in the country.

Mr Marshall said:  “I am unabashedly a strong advocate for the renewable energy sector and the jobs, investment and growth that it’s bringing to the Northern Tablelands.

“There are obviously environmental and importantly some huge economic gains as well – hundreds of millions of dollars of investment, job opportunities and diversification of our local economies – positives that our communities have been seeking for many years.”

The federal and state National Party have different approaches to renewables, with fear among some important people in the state party that the party nationally is sending out signals which may deter future investment.

Last week, the National Party called for the removal of subsidies for renewable energy providers.  Some experts warned that this might scare investors away from New England’s renewable industry.

Mr Marshall’s party’s concern nationally was that promoting renewable energy by subsidising it made fuel bills higher. – in other words, that consumers end up paying for what renewable energy sceptics say is a more expensive way to generate power.

But Mr Marshall is not endorsing that view.  Instead, he is pointing to the wind farm projects between Inverell and Glen Innes as well as the Moree Solar Farm as “tangible examples of progress being made in the region by the renewables sector.”

He said that the state government in which he is a minister “has also just given approval for a 400,000 panel Metz Solar Farm near Armidale”.

“For the first time in our region’s history, we are on the cusp of being a net exporter of energy, reversing the historic trend and building wealth in our communities – we are fast becoming the renewable energy hub of NSW and Australia.”