January 23, 2011
Australia

Collector gathers to stop windfarm on its doorstep

BY MICHAEL INMAN, The Canberra Times, www.canberratimes.com.au 23 January 2011

Collector residents will today begin the fight to stop a planned $400million windfarm they say will destroy the village’s growth opportunities.

Friends of Collector community group will form at the Collector Memorial Hall at 3pm and begin opposition to the 80-turbine development.

Tomorrow, the group will unveil a billboard alongside the Federal Highway with a community message to developer Transfield Services, ”Transfield. Go stick your 80 turbines somewhere else. Try Sydney.”

Linda Pahl said the issue had split the usually tight-knit community, with about 70 per cent of the 329 residents opposing the development.

Mrs Pahl said the visual impact on the historic village, already dominated by the Federal Highway, is the main concern.

But residents are also worried by noise and health side-effects.

Far from improving the local economy, Mrs Pahl said only six landholders would benefit, reaping about $1.3 million between them annually.

With many Canberra house hunters turning their backs on the city in favour of rural living, resident Mrs Pahl fears the windfarm would destroy real estate prospects. ”It’s the wrong location, there’s a village right there and its opportunities are being compromised for a development that residents had no say in whatsoever,” Mrs Pahl said.

”A lot of shires would love to have them because it brings in money and jobs, but we’re in the Sydney-to-Canberra corridor, people are spilling out of the cities, so Collector doesn’t have a shortage of opportunities.”

The views from Frank Hannan’s 404ha property will be compromised by the 150m turbines.

But he, along with other residents, are not opposed to hosting renewable energy projects.

The fifth generation Collector farmer said a solar farm, similar to the one recently announced for Bungendore, would be more appropriate for the village.

For more on this story, see the print edition of today’s Sunday Canberra Times


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/01/23/collector-gathers-to-stop-windfarm-on-its-doorstep/