July 29, 2013
Australia, Letters

Wind energy leaves much to be desired

Megan Read The Courier | July 29, 2013 | www.thecourier.com.au

Andrew Bray’s article (more appropriately called an advertisement) “Wind energy leadership missing” (August 17) was misleading and falsified facts.

There are hundreds of “enterprising farmers” and “lateral thinkers” who have said no to turbines across Australia. Why risk the severe adverse health effects, the property devaluation, the broken rural communities, the permanent unsightly visual impacts and the risk of having to move house, to name a few?

Wind energy is not cost-effective and efficient. It solely relies on billions of taxpayers’ dollars to subsidise this industry, which is not guaranteed to remain locally owned.

Waubra Wind Farm may have injected some local funds to the farmers hosting turbines but the other millions of dollars have gone overseas to the Spanish owner.

Mr Bray calls the Coalition’s questioning of the current renewable energy target “worrying”. Why is it a worry that they are questioning the subsidy program that pays out to non-compliant wind farm companies that exceed noise limits and do not adhere to permit conditions conditions that are making families sick to the point of leaving their homes?

Victoria’s current wind farm planning laws are not “anti wind”, but are in place to protect the non-participating farmers and to remain consistent with other global regulations.

Mr Bray works for The Victorian Wind Alliance, a wind industry funded group run by professionals that privately profit from wind farms.

Take away the subsidies, approve an independent report researching the adverse health effects of infrasound emitted by the turbines and adhere to permit conditions then see them running.

I guarantee there won’t be a wind farm operating in Australia.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/07/29/wind-energy-leaves-much-to-be-desired/