January 26, 2018
Australia

Hawkesdale residents campaign against proposed Willatook wind farm

Hawkesdale residents say "Enough" to wind farms | Everard Himmelreich | The Standard | January 26, 2018 | www.standard.net.au

Hawkesdale residents have had enough.

With more than 240 turbines either built or approved to be built in Hawkesdale and surrounding areas, many residents are calling for a proposal for further 98 turbines at Willatook, west of Hawkesdale, to be scrapped.

They have formed a No Willatook Windfarm group that is placing protest signs on properties throughout Hawkesdale and surrounding areas and have sent a petition bearing 150 signatories to planning minister Richard Wynne.

One of those opposed to the proposed Willatook wind farm, Ned Nagorcka, of Hawkesdale west, said he was not opposed to wind farms but the cluster of wind farms that is set to form around his property would give him no reprieve from their noise.

Mr Nagorcka said he could already hear the 140-turbine Macarthur wind farm to the north-west of his property, particularly when northerly winds blew during winter.

With the 56-turbine Ryan Corner wind farm to the south of his property approved, along with the planned 26-turbine Hawkesdale and the 20-turbine Woolsthorpe wind farms to his east, the proposed Willatook wind farm would completely surround him and give him no reprieve from the noise, he said.

Mr Nagorcka said the Willatook wind farm proponent, Wind Prospect, had offered him money to host turbines but he had rejected it because of the adverse impact they were likely to have.

“I think the whole area has done its bit (for wind energy),” Mr Nagorcka said.

With Australia such a vast continent, the density of wind farms should not have to be as high as the Hawkesdale area was set to experience, he said.

Other opponents of the emerging cluster of wind farms around Hawkesdale have said wind energy companies were concentrating on the area because they could connect to the power grid through a high capacity transmission line that ran near Hawkesdale.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2018/01/26/hawkesdale-residents-campaign-against-proposed-willatook-wind-farm/