LOCATION/TYPE

NEWS HOME


[ exact phrase in "" • results by date ]

[ Google-powered • results by relevance ]

Archive
RSS

Add NWW headlines to your site (click here)

WHAT TO DO
when your community is targeted

Get weekly updates
RSS

RSS feeds and more

Keep Wind Watch online and independent!

Donate via Stripe

Donate via Paypal

Selected Documents

All Documents

Research Links

Alerts

Press Releases

FAQs

Campaign Material

Photos & Graphics

Videos

Allied Groups

News Watch Home

Residents raise windfarm fire fears 

Credit:  Bryce Eishold | Latrobe Valley Express | August 22, 2019 | www.latrobevalleyexpress.com.au ~~

Opponents of the Delburn Windfarm have raised concerns about possible bushfire risks at the project’s proposed site.

The Strzelecki Community Alliance, made up of residents from the nearby area, cited a US case last month where a wind turbine caught fire in Southern Washington as a cause for their concern.

The 35-turbine windfarm would be located in HVP Plantations land bordered by Hernes Oak, Darlimurla, Narracan and Thorpdale to the west and Yinnar and Boolarra to the east.

This area is covered by a bushfire management overlay and was impacted by the Delburn complex fire in 2009 which ultimately claimed more than 40 homes in Boolarra, Yinnar, Mirboo North and Darlimurla.

“We have not got over the trauma of the five days of the 2009 fires which burned our fences, threatened our livestock and our own home,” local resident Rosemary Parker said.

She said she lived in fear during the fire season and the wind farm proposal “brings it all back”.

Strzelecki Community Alliance spokeswoman Anne-Marie Dieperink said the group was not anti-windfarm, but opposed “installations that adversely affect neighbours”.

“Putting people’s lives at risk is not an option. No amount of management plans on paper will prevent a bushfire from occurring,” Ms Dieperink said.

Windfarm company OSMI Australia said while it could not comment on the specific US case, the risk of turbines catching fire was very low.

Community engagement officer Ruth Harper said the company had committed to including a fire suppression unit in each turbine.

“If a fire starts within the hub it sets off a gas which puts out the fire,” Ms Harper said.

“That’s not a standard thing. It’s something we’ve committed to having because they are in plantations.”

OSMI has engaged local consultants to assess the fire risk of the project, with a report expected to be released in the next couple of weeks, Ms Harper said.

She said a five-metre radius would be cleared around the base of each turbine and the road network within the plantation would be extended and improved to allow better access for firefighting.

Water tanks would be installed on the site and there would be a human presence onsite during working hours, she said.

“In the event of a fire the turbines can be switched off within minutes with the press of a button remotely and can be put in a ‘Y’ position to allow aerial firefighting.”

Ms Harper said wind turbines safely discharged lightning strikes into the earth.

Source:  Bryce Eishold | Latrobe Valley Express | August 22, 2019 | www.latrobevalleyexpress.com.au

This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.

The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.

Wind Watch relies entirely
on User Contributions
   Donate via Stripe
(via Stripe)
Donate via Paypal
(via Paypal)

Share:

e-mail X FB LI M TG TS G Share


News Watch Home

Get the Facts
CONTACT DONATE PRIVACY ABOUT SEARCH
© National Wind Watch, Inc.
Use of copyrighted material adheres to Fair Use.
"Wind Watch" is a registered trademark.

 Follow:

Wind Watch on X Wind Watch on Facebook Wind Watch on Linked In

Wind Watch on Mastodon Wind Watch on Truth Social

Wind Watch on Gab Wind Watch on Bluesky