February 1, 2021
Australia

Moyne calls for Hawkesdale windfarm rethink on turbine locations

Katrina Lovell | The Standard | February 1 2021 | www.standard.net.au

Moyne Shire is urging the developer of the Hawkesdale Wind Farm to heed community concerns and remove the turbines closest to town as it scales back the size of its development.

Global Power General Australia has recently applied to the state Planning Minister Richard Wynne to amend the planning permit which includes reducing the number of turbines from 26 to 23.

Moyne Shire mayor Daniel Meade has strongly urged the company's director to review which turbines are to be removed in order to address local community concerns.

"Council is disappointed that the three turbines GPG are proposing to remove from the Hawkesdale Wind Farm are for operational reasons and not in response to community concerns," Cr Meade said.

"Any change or amendment to the planning permit should see removal of the turbines closest to the township of Hawkesdale to increase the buffer between the town and the wind farm.

"The three turbines that GPG are applying to remove are not near Hawkesdale – if the company are reducing the number of turbines, they should be first removing the ones closest to the town."

The council is considering lodging a formal objection to company's amendment application.

"We have been advocating to both the developer and the minister for some time that any change to the layout of the wind farm should see the turbines closest to Hawkesdale removed or relocated," Cr Meade said.

"Following council's decision in December to undertake independent noise modelling of the Hawkesdale Wind Farm, we've also requested that the minister delay any decision on the amendment application until the modelling can be undertaken."

In December, it was the Hawkesdale wind farm had struck a power purchasing agree and construction would start in 2021, 12 years after it first received a planning permit.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2021/02/01/moyne-calls-for-hawkesdale-windfarm-rethink-on-turbine-locations/