November 8, 2018
Australia

Winds of change blowing for neighbours close to contentious turbines

Denis Gregory | Central Western Daily | November 8 2018 | www.centralwesterndaily.com.au

People who live near proposed huge wind turbines are far from happy, believing they’ll wreck their rustic lifestyles, and in some cases they’ve used their own savings to mount legal challenges.

There’s new farms planned for Flyers Creek and another at Bodangora near Wellington has just been connected to the grid and when completed will have 33 turbines.

The proposed Flyers Creek wind farm is 20 kilometres south of Orange in Blayney Shire and will have up to 38 turbines, a substation, access tracks and an electrical collection system.

Infigen Energy now wants to change its original proposal with larger 160-metre turbines and connect the farm to the grid via a transmission line that would join a line from Orange to the Cadia mine.

This has resulted in 57 objections from Flyers Creek people.

People near wind farms believe turbines as high as a 40-storey building are a blot on the landscape and have an annoying whoosh-whoosh-whoosh noise.

They’ve split communities, causing bitter rifts between families who don’t want them and next-door neighbours who agree.

Wind farms are also copping flak overseas, with the Poms giving power to local communities to block turbines before a planning application can even be made.

They’ve also come up with a plan to bribe homeowners within 1.6 kilometres of a wind farm with a 20 per cent discount on their power bills in an attempt to reduce opposition to the green technology.

People could also get university fee bursaries and free home improvements as part of government attempts to win the support of communities and reduce new wind farm objections.

So, if you Flyers Creek people near these proposed windmills need any free home improvements or two, you know what to do: hold your hands out.

But then trying to get any compensation here would be about as hopeless as trying to sneak the dawn past the rooster.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2018/11/08/winds-of-change-blowing-for-neighbours-close-to-contentious-turbines/