Wind turbine fears for Oberon landscape 

The idyllic region of Oberon – home to prime agriculture land – is surrounded by wilderness, pine forests and pristine waterways.

But locals fear their landscape and the economic, environmental and social fabric of their community is being threatened at the expense of renewable energy.

They are concerned hundreds of wind turbines will be erected in state forests right next to farm land without community consultation and communication.

In 2021, the former NSW coalition government changed legislation to allow parcels of land within state forests to be used for renewable energy projects, including wind energy generation. In doing so, it earmarked particular state-owned pine forests, such as the forests at Sunny Corner, Oberon, Orange and Bondo, due to their close proximity to infrastructure, and called for tenders.

Oberon Against Wind Towers group spokesperson Chris Muldoon said the NSW government had a power target it wanted to reach, which could mean anything from 350 to 625 wind towers in those areas, which would stand as high as 285 metres.

“We are not against renewable energy, we want the government to be considerate of the region and take these towers to communities who want them and where it doesn’t impact people’s lives,” Mr Muldoon said, who runs Mayfield Gardens, Australia’s largest privately-owned cool climate garden that draws 80,000 visitors a year. “Oberon is a well populated area, it’s a couple of hours from Sydney with a lucrative farming community and fertile land and a strong, rapidly growing tourism industry. There are a lot of farmers in others parts of NSW that are happy to take $20,000 to $50,000 for the towers.”

Mr Muldoon said government took no responsibility for any consultation for the projects once approved and it was up to the proponents (in many cases were overseas based) to engage with the community.

“These international energy companies are coming to Australia for one reason – to cash in on this indiscriminate rush for renewable energy,” he said. “And they do not care for one minute what regional Australians think of them or the projects they are developing. We are at the very point where it’s renewable energy at the expense of everything else and the government is driving a policy that is dividing the community.”

Graham Gilmore of Tattykeel, Black Springs, whose property is adjacent to the state forests, said there had been a renewable push in his area for a long time. He purchased one of his properties with the original test tower because he didn’t want wind turbines near his land. But if wind turbines are approved in the state forest then he said they could potentially be built on his boundary.

“I’m not against renewable energy, but there has been no consultation on this, they are saying we can’t stop it going into state forests right next door and that we have no say in it,” Mr Gilmore said. “These wind turbines will change the landscape, this is a farming area and locals don’t want it.”

A Department of Planning and Environment spokesperson said there were currently no Forestry proposals in the planning system to date. “If a proposal is lodged in future, communities and stakeholders will have the opportunity to provide their feedback on any potential project … feedback will need to be addressed by the applicant and assessed by the department before a determination is made,” the spokesperson said.