Wind Power News: Oceania
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Fight for no-wind position: Tablelands residents in battle to stop project
The fate of a controversial clean energy project on the Atherton Tablelands now hinges on federal approval after getting a green light from the state government, but a core group of concerned locals has not given up the fight. More than a thousand submissions have been made by residents protesting the proposed wind farm fringing a declared Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, 15km from Ravenshoe. Ark Energy, a subsidiary of Epuron, plans to build the Chalumbin Wind Farm which received . . . Complete story »
NSW Rural Fire Service crews contain blaze at Southern Tablelands turbine station
Emergency services have contained a fire at a wind turbine in the NSW Southern Tablelands. The turbine on a rural property at Breadalbane, near Goulburn, started at about six o’clock this morning. Rural Fire Services spokesman Greg Allan said about 20 firefighters in six trucks responded to the fire. “They were on scene to make sure no fires were sparked from the fire within the structure itself,” Mr Allan said. “Crews were able to have that fire contained with no . . . Complete story »
Robbins Island wind farm proposal approved on condition of 5-month annual shutdown due to orange-bellied parrots
Philippines-based multinational renewables company ACEN has sought approval to build a wind farm with up to 122 turbines on Robbins Island and a parcel of land called Jim’s Plain, north-west of Smithton. The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) has granted conditional approval for the project, which has been vehemently opposed by environmentalists and some Circular Head residents. The proposed site of the farm is a migration area for the critically endangered orange-bellied parrot. EPA director Wes Ford said the board thoroughly . . . Complete story »
Power line placement for new wind farm near Biloela will impact cropping operations, farmers sa
When farmer Laurie Brosnan stands in his paddocks and looks up, instead of clear blue skies he sees a tapestry of powerlines laced through hulking steel transmission towers that is set to expand. On the outskirts of Biloela, south of Rockhampton in central Queensland, energy provider Powerlink is preparing to connect the region’s new wind farm to the grid. The preferred transmission tower corridor for the Banana Range Wind Farm project runs through Mr Bosnan’s prime cropping land. He and . . . Complete story »
The environmental price of building new wind farms
South Korean–owned Ark Energy says it is confident its controversial $1 billion Chalumbin wind farm, adjacent to World Heritage-protected rainforests in North Queensland, will be given final approval by the Commonwealth. In what is expected to be the first of several renewables projects challenged by environmentalists, Ark Energy has significantly scaled back the project from 200 turbines to 86 turbines to appease local concerns and to win the backing of federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek. But local environmental groups said . . . Complete story »
Wind farm rejected over threat to koalas gets green light for new design
In late 2021, Epuron put in a revised development application for the wind farm, with a redesign of the project’s layout, a reduction in the number of turbines from 81 to 55 and an increase in total generation capacity to around 341MW. Complete story »
Latrobe Valley pine plantation wind farm confirms Supreme Court challenge
State government approvals for a 33-turbine, 200MW wind farm proposed for construction within a pine plantation in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley are being challenged in court, the project’s developer has confirmed. In a project update this week, Osmi Australia says the Victorian planning minister’s March approval of the Delburn wind farm planning permit applications will be challenged in the Supreme Court next year by a group called the Strzelecki Community Alliance. According to its website, the Strzelecki Community Alliance is a . . . Complete story »
WA wind turbine collapse linked to a crack in the steel tower
A wind turbine collapse that caused the temporary shut down of the 89MW Walkaway wind farm in Western Australia looks to have been caused by a crack in the tower. Iberdrola Australia – the owner of the 54-turbine wind farm, which has been in operation since 2006 – reported the incident in mid-June, in which a turbine tower buckled in half and fell into a canola field. At the time, the wind farm – also known as the Alinta wind . . . Complete story »
Moyne Shire councillors worried about number of dead bats at wind farm
Councillors say they are worried about the number of dead bats being found at a wind farm in the north-east corner of Moyne Shire. The issue arose as councillors reviewed the second-year report of the Bat and Avifauna Management (BAM) Plan for the Salt Creek Wind Farm at the September council meeting. The report showed 67 bat carcasses had been found during the wind farm’s second year of operation. Council energy project manager Michelle Grainger said that was an increase . . . Complete story »
Moyne Shire Council to harden stance against new wind farms
Moyne Shire Council is on track to harden its stance against new wind farms at its September monthly meeting. After extensive feedback from ratepayers, council officers have advised stronger wording for Moyne’s wind farm “position statement”. “Moyne Shire Council strongly recommends the state government pause the issuing of all wind farm planning permits in the shire until strategic land use planning in the South West Renewable Energy Zone is completed in consultation with Moyne and other affected councils and communities,” . . . Complete story »
