June 27, 2013
Australia

Jugiong set for wind farm

June 21, 2013 | www.southernweekly.com.au

Jugiong could be the latest rural area to see a wind farm appear on its doorstep as Sydney-based company, Epuron is proposing to erect 152 wind farms near the small village as part of its Yass Valley Wind Farm project.

The wind farm is proposed for an area 12 kilometres east of Jugiong. Following the general line of the highway, the project would stretch back to 18 kilometres from Yass, bordering the township of Bookham.

The Yass valley project has been underway since 2008 and Epuron said the wind farm would have a maximum capacity of over 300 megawatts.

Wind farms have been a controversial topic in rural Australia with questions being raised over health concerns and the effect of the large turbines on small towns.

Federal member for Hume Alby Schulz questioned the health effects of the projects on nearby residents in October last year.

“If we were talking about the nuclear power industry, complaints would be heard world-wide, and governments would immediately do something to stop this,” Mr Schultz said at the time.

The town of Crookwell, a short distance from Goulburn has had a wind farm established since 1998 with a second phase of construction beginning in 2009.

Upper Lachlan Shire councillor and Crookwell resident Malcolm Barlow warned other rural towns that the emergence of wind farms would divide the local community.

“There are no positive impacts from these wind farms, they are economically inefficient and would not exist without federal government backing,’ Mr Barlow said.

“They divide the community which is an especially bad thing in rural Australia because you need the community together.

“An example of this is when we see people trying to sell their property where a neighbour has sold their land to these wind farms, no one wants to buy next to these noisy industrial machines.

“There is also a growing amount of medical evidence that there is an impact upon health, particularly in ear-related issues.

“It’s caused not just by the audible noise, which is significant on its own, but also the inaudible noise.”

Epuron’s website said the company is now updating its proposal to reflect submissions on the project made through public exhibition.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/06/27/jugiong-set-for-wind-farm/