June 6, 2012
Australia

Concern over State Government’s wind farm guidelines

1233 ABC Newcastle | www.abc.net.au 6 June 2012

The State Opposition says the O’Farrell Government’s planning guidelines for wind farms is putting potential investment in the Hunter at risk.

The guidelines include a two-kilometre exclusion zone between homes and wind turbines.

Energy spokesman Luke Foley says planning charges are set to prohibit investment in the industry.

He says developers could be paying more than $1 million in planning fees compared to $15,000 in Victoria.

Mr Foley says the planning guidelines for wind energy are much stronger than for the coal and gas industry.

“If a single landholder, one landholder out of hundreds objects to a wind farm proposal the proposal then has to go through all sorts of hoops, that doesn’t apply to coal seam gas or coal or our extractive industries,” he said.

Newcastle based, wind energy consultant Richard Finlay-Jones says the planning guidelines could put local projects at risk.

“There’s probably about half a dozen wind projects between the Lower Hunter and Newcastle up to as far as Merriwa and Cassilis in the Upper Hunter,” he said.

“The projects that are being investigated now could be paired back or they could be absolutely put under.”

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/06/06/concern-over-state-governments-wind-farm-guidelines/