Uralla mayor Robert Bell said finding labourers is a consistent challenge

Cr Bell said the council must get plans in order quickly, to ensure the town benefits as much as possible with reasonable inputs from renewable energy projects.

But just four years ago, Cr Bell sat on a forum for the region discussing key issues, and renewable energy wasn't one of them, he said.

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As well as the opening of the largest solar farm in NSW, New England Solar, in the town in the past month, two other projects are on public display, and another three are having preliminary discussions with council.

"I think there's a huge opportunity, we'd be mad as a council to waste it, so we need to be really active," he said.

"We think they should be making substantial contributions to the community on their way through, as part of their development process."

At completion of stage one of New England Solar, $200,000 in grants had been delivered through the Uralla Grants Program, and the company plans to invest more than $5m in community funding into Uralla in the next 25 or more years.

Another issue for the council is finding ways around managing accommodation and employment, as an active market for labourers is a persistent challenge, Cr Bell said.

Solar farms have taken up a chunk of the market, and when council can't find staff, in the case of roadworks, it must rely on outside contractors.

The Uralla waste depot, once closed only one day a week, is now shuttered for two days, and "significant" overtime pay is being offered to attract workers to the position, Cr Bell said.

"We're not filling all of those labourers and positions with any ease," he said.

"Trying to get tradespeople is going to be a continuing effort.

"It's a lot better to be seeing people with too much work than not enough."

Peter Acton, owner of Uralla Motor Mates, has "100 per cent" experienced being flat out day-to-day in the trades industry.

The workload is up to 20 cars a day, with just two staff members to do the work, he said.

"Just can't find staff, that's the big problem, no one wants to do it," he said.

The solar farms aren't helping, he said.

"We're doing 20 cars a day, and we're still two or three weeks booked out," he said.

"It might slow down once they go, but they're talking about wind farms."

Mr Acton personally isn't a fan of solar, or wind farms.

"You want to go and have a look at 'em," he said

"Man, they're ugly."

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