March 2, 2007
Australia
Australia
A second wind farm project has been approved for southern New South Wales, with an application to build 15 turbines on the Cullerin range given the nod late yesterday.
Epuron Pty Limited will place the wind farm 40 kilometres southwest of Goulburn on the Cullerin Range at a cost of $50 million.
Planning minister Frank Sartor says 105 conditions have been included in the approval.
“(They will) strike a balance between local interests and the broader environmental benefits of green energy,” he said.
“Any wind farm proposal is assessed in detail, looking at any concerns of local residents and how we might address them.”
“In this instance, after listening to community feedback, I imposed more than 100 conditions on the proposal.”
Among the conditions:
* Individual landscaping must be negotiated for residents living within four kilometres of the wind farm to minimise the visual impact – but residents must request this.
* The wind farm must comply with noise limits as recommended under the South Australian noise guidelines.
The minister says the project will provide a “new, clean, renewable source” of energy for New South Wales.
It is expected to generate enough power for 12,000 homes and save 95,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions per year.
“That’s the equivalent of removing up to 19,000 cars from our roads,” Mr Sartor said.
“And it will result in substantial savings in water consumption and reduced pollution, by replacing coal and other fossil fuel-fired electricity.”
The project is consistent with the Iemma government’s aim to generate 10 percent of electricity in NSW from renewable energy sources by 2010, the minister said.
A wind farm will also be built at Taralga after a legal challenge to its approval failed in the New South Wales Land and Environment Court.
There is already a wind farm at Crookwell.
2 March 2007
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2007/03/02/cullerin-wind-farm-approved/