December 22, 2011
Australia, Press releases

FCWTAG submits concerns about impacts of Infigen wind turbines

Flyers Creek Wind Turbine Awareness Group Inc., FCWTAG, 22nd December, 2011

“Three days ago, we submitted a report to the New South Wales Department of Planning, stating our well founded concerns about the impacts of Infigen’s proposed wind turbine development in our area,” stated Dr Alan Watts.

It included a report from Mr Steven Cooper, a highly respected NSW Acoustician, who collected his own acoustic data from Capital Wind Development, also owned by Infigen. This preliminary data clearly shows that not only is the Capital Wind Development regularly breaching the current NSW Government noise guidelines, but there are also significant levels of both infrasound and low frequency noise inside the homes of affected residents.

Capital Wind Development had a noise assessment done recently by Infigen’s Acoustic Engineers, VIPAC, who had concluded on the basis of their acoustic measurements that this development was compliant with the noise guidelines. The NSW Department of Planning Noise Expert had concurred with VIPAC’s assessment. VIPAC’s original Noise Assessment for Capital was removed from the Planning Department’s website.

The submission also included a report from Les Huson, a well known Victorian Acoustician, who critiqued the VIPAC assessment for Flyers Creek, and also found serious technical errors, as did Mr Cooper, in the Acoustic Assessment for the proposed wind development at Flyers Creek.

The question needs to be asked why VIPAC’s original Noise Assessment Report disappeared from the DoP website. We are pleased that it was reinstated yesterday but only following our concern being conveyed to the Planning Department. As well as this data a Compliance Report from Vipac must also be placed on the website to make this data meaningful. Again why are their Compliance Reports not available?

How thorough and accurate were these initial assessments by the Acoustic Engineers employed by Infigen and the Government Noise Expert?

What is the NSW government going to do to ensure noise compliance at Capital and other wind developments before approving more of these industrial complexes?

These developments also have the potential to cause ill health as has happened at Capital and elsewhere?

What are the State and Federal Governments going to do about implementing the recommendations of the Federal Senate Inquiry into Rural wind farms and when?
These recommendations included the measurement of low frequency noise at the homes of impacted residents. Why is it that this has only been uncovered because rural residents have funded the collection of this data themselves?

“This is a state and national disgrace, and needs immediate and urgent attention”, stated Dr Watts. “There needs to be a moratorium and a full inquiry to be able to fully understand what is going on with the wind industry. Peoples’ health is being ignored, and this is simply unacceptable”.

Media Contacts:
Dr Alan Watts 0418 292 887, 02 6367 3222
Patina Schneider on 0405 127 189
www.fcwtag.info