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‘It’s so The Castle’: Farmer crashes wind farm press conference
Credit: By Katrina Lovell | June 7 2024 | standard.net.au ~~
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A Darlington farmer who managed to crash the Victorian Premier’s wind farm press conference at Mortlake says turbines are dividing communities.
John Morrison questioned Jacinta Allan at the end of the press conference about equity for neighbouring landholders of proposed wind farms.
“It is inequitable. It is unfair,” he told representatives of Acciona’s Mortlake South Wind Farm who were at the conference.
He said they couldn’t build a house within one kilometre of a proposed wind farm boundary.
“Everybody in Melbourne is very happy to have a wind farm stuck out at Mortlake. They don’t want it close to their house,” he said.
“We didn’t sign up to be next to an industrial farm. We are farmers. We’ve been here our whole lives and it’s divided our community.”
Ms Allan said all projects had to go through appropriate planning processes which involved extensive landowner consultation.
“The most important thing for the local community, in my view, as someone who also lives in regional Victoria is that regional Victorians get to share in the investment and jobs that come from these renewable energy projects,” she said.
“And we also get to share in the benefits from having a cheaper, secure energy supply that comes from these renewable energy projects.”
Ms Allan said VicGrid was currently consulting with communities . “There are existing mechanisms for landowners to enter into commercial arrangement for existing projects,” she said.
But Ms Allan said she wouldn’t comment on what private landowners may have struck with companies.
After the conference, Mr Morrison said he would have like to have said more to the Premier “but she walked off”.
Neighbour’s ‘life will be ruined’
He said it “epitomised where we’re at” that she came to the region without letting the Moyne Shire Council and the mayor know.
“Our main gripe is we’ve got a proposed wind farm on the boundary of our farm. That proposal has got all sorts of rights over the neighbouring landholders, it’s so imbalanced it’s not even funny,” Mr Morrison said.
“We’re going to have towers closer to our house than they are to the hosting landholder.
“One of my neighbours. His life will be ruined. It’s so The Castle.”
Mr Morrison said a neighbour’s house would have nine towers within 1.3-kilometres of their dream home.
He said the impact of a one-kilometre buffer zone was completely unreasonable for neighbouring landholders, and labelled the compensation “token”.
Mr Morrison said it was not that he was against renewable energy, but it was unjust what was happening to the neighbouring farmers.
A 45-turbine farm in the wind for Darlington
The proposed wind farm neighbouring Mr Morrison is the Darlington wind farm project with plans to build up to 45 turbines between Mortlake and Darlington.
During Thursday’s press conference, Ms Allan said about 38 per cent of Victoria’s energy was coming from renewables, and the state was on track to achieve the 40 per cent target by 2025.
She said the government would then set its sights on reaching 95 per cent renewables by 2035 with batteries and offshore wind having a role to play.
She didn’t put a figure on how many batteries would be needed across the state to meet the target, but pointed to a large one under construction near Melton.
Ms Allan said the new State Electricity Commission had another 100 projects it was considering.
After the government approved Beach Energy’s gas project this week, she said gas had a role to play in the transition to renewables and would be part of the five per cent in 2035.
Housholds encouraged to switch to electric
Ms Allan talked about supporting households and businesses to go all-electric which she said was cheaper.
With talk the electricity grid in the region had little capacity for more projects, Ms Allan said the new government entity VicGrid had been established to map out ares of the state that needed further investment in transmission.
Ms Allan also said there had been no movement on using the Port of Hastings as a hub for offshore wind farms and it was still in talks with the federal government.
In January, federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek rejected plans to build a terminal at Hastings because it was listed as a globally significant wetland.
Tech school on its way for Warrnambool
At the conference, Western Victoria MP Jacinta Ermacora said the Mortlake South Wind Farm had created local jobs, and pointed to new investments in Warrnambool that would upskill workers for the industry.
“This wind farm has been constructed by tradies with renewable energy skills from our community,” she said.
“Those skills are being invested at South West Tafe with the $5 million renewable trade training centre and also the new tech school that’s on its way as well.”
Comment has been sought from the proponents of the Darlington Wind Farm.
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