Wind farm scheme a ‘bribe’ 

Glen Kelly from the Kalapa and Wycarbah Local Action Committee and fellow locals are concerned about the new wind farm to be built in their community. Photo: Kent Murray

The Kalapa and Wycarbah Local Action Committee has accused the Moah Creek Wind Farm developers of trying to “bribe” local residents with a $8 million Neighbour Shared Benefit Scheme.

Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Estate are seeking to develop the Moah Creek Wind Farm within a 10,910 ha area consisting of 31 lots, located 30 km west of Rockhampton and 10km north of Stanwell.

It will consist of 60 wind turbine generators capable of generating up to 372 MW of electricity.

The wind farm is projected to provide clean electricity sufficient to power the equivalent of over 250,000 houses, and create about 300 jobs during construction.

But some local community members have concerns about their project’s impact on the environment and the habitat of local animals.

Sixth-generation Kalapa cattle grazier Glen Kelly said letters regarding the Shared Benefit Scheme, which were dropped in letterboxes last week, promised direct annual payments to neighbouring properties associated with the Moah Creek project, totalling $8 million over the course of the project.

“But that $8 million could be spread out over 40 people, or 60 people, and it’s over the lifetime of the project, which is supposed to be 30 years,” Mr Kelly said.

“It’s most definitely a bribe, if you sign up to that you’re gagged. I don’t think anyone’s going to saddle up to it because they’ve woken up to them.”

Mr Kelly said he didn’t believe it was a coincidence the letter arrived just days after the State Government announced a review of Wind Farm Codes (State Code 23).

“This (the review) might make the State Government aware that there’s a lot of people out there that are very annoyed at how they’ve been treated by these companies who have been invited in by the state,” he said.

Some components considered in the review of Wind Farm Codes (State Code 23) include protections for areas of high ecological and biodiversity value; protections for the Great Barrier Reef from the impact of construction; identification and assessment of viable haulage routes upfront; and, investigations of the impact companies’ developments will have on local workforces and accommodation.

Mr Kelly said the local action committee had proven people could stand up to renewable energy companies, with the latest update on the project’s website saying the start of commercial operation would come in 2028, compared to the original date of 2025.

“There’s an election coming up and one of the big bangers on the board will be renewable energy projects and the destruction of the environment,” he said.

“The balls are going to keep bouncing for these renewable energy projects, it’s not all happy days.”

Energy Estate’s Chief projects officer Vincent Dwyer said the timeline for large scale renewable projects like Moah Creek Wind Farm inevitably move due to their complexity.

“They take a number of years to go through design, planning, grid connection and construction,” he said.

“Changes to project energisation dates as we proceed through these complex stages are very normal. Our current projection is that the project is expected to reach energisation in early 2028.

“We will continue to update the local community and broader stakeholders as the project progresses.”

He said the developers welcomed the review of State Code 23.

“We will participate fully in the consultation alongside our broader, ongoing engagement with the community.

“We have spent a number of years designing the best possible project at Moah Creek based on a wide range of detailed site assessments and design.

“We feel confident, based on our detailed knowledge of the site and the quality of our process, that the review will not adversely impact our project.

“If the review were to have an impact, we would of course work hard to ensure we can respond appropriately.

He said the government’s wind farm review announcement had no bearing on the timing of the Shared Benefit Scheme letterbox drop.

“The Neighbour Shared Benefit Scheme for the project is one of the programs we will implement to ensure that benefits from the project are meaningfully shared with the local community and is something we usually offer,” he said.

“This scheme provides a structured framework for providing direct annual payments to neighbouring properties to the project, based on a clear set of transparent eligibility criteria. “The SBS is not a new opportunity and in fact was raised with the community at our information sessions back in October 2022 and again in April 2023.

“We have been designing and planning more detail for the SBS since April and a letter to invite eligible neighbours to participate was pre-planned for distribution by post last week and has been completed.”

Other wind farm projects underway in Central Queensland include the Clarke Creek Wind Farm 150km north-west of Rockhampton, Banana Range Wind Farm near Biloela and the Boulder Creek Wind Farm near Mount Morgan.