Legal stoush looms over wind farm noise  

Credit:  By Brad Ryan | ABC News | www.abc.net.au 2 August 2012 ~~

The Tablelands Regional Council has voted to take court action against a wind farm at the centre of noise complaints near Ravenshoe in far north Queensland.

The council will seek a court order to force the Windy Hill Wind Farm to shut down several turbines each night, until it proves it is complying with noise standards.

It also wants the operator, RATCH-Australia, to conduct noise monitoring.

Steve Lavis from the Tablelands Wind Turbine Action group says the council should be congratulated for taking a stand.

“They’ve had enough intestinal fortitude to do something about this,” he said.

“It’s a long-running issue – this problem’s been going on at Windy Hill for several years now.

“There’s a health issue involved here. We have a local resident that’s seriously affected by this noise and it’s taken such a long time for something to be finally done.”