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Wind Power News: Australia
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational effort 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.
Emotions run high as Monaro residents face off against wind farm proponents
Monaro landholders have their slings aimed at an Australian energy developer planning to erect 25 colossal wind turbines across plains 11 kilometres south of Cooma. The issue is already shaping up as a David vs Goliath battle, which last week became emotive during a public meeting in the Snowy Monaro town. A crowd of more than 100 concerned Monaro residents made their overwhelming objection to the development clear when they confronted representatives of Sydney-based developer Someva Renewables at The Alpine . . . Complete story »
Farmer fury in Australia signals tough road to renewable energy
Hundreds of farmers are refusing to allow high-voltage overhead power lines to pass through their land, opposition that is threatening Australia’s plans to increase renewable generation and reduce emissions by 43% from 2005 levels by 2030. Australia intends to build 10,000 km (6,200 miles) of power lines by 2050 to connect wind, solar and hydro projects to the grid. Without them, fewer renewables can be brought into the power supply, and emissions targets are unlikely to be met. A faltering . . . Complete story »
Windfarm plans in choppy waters as Coalition and One Nation whip up doubts
Frank Future didn’t expect to find an ally in Peter Dutton over his concerns that the offshore wind farm proposed for the Hunter region could have an irreparable impact on the environment. “He came out with a group of us on that one over there,” he says, pointing to a boat floating metres from the whale watching vessel that he’s run in Nelson Bay for nearly 30 years. “He really saw that there was limited community consultation before that zone . . . Complete story »
Big worries over impacts
I am concerned about the impacts of climate capitalism on the environment and costs of living. Evidently a wind turbine can use about 30,000 tonnes of iron ore from coal coking, about 30,000 tonnes of concrete from shale and limestone mining, about a tonne of rare earth neodymium with uranium and thorium waste, cobalt mining using child slave labour, and balsa wood from deforestation of the Amazon. Then there is the transportation. Also there is deforestation, erosion and sedimentation, plus . . . Complete story »
Robbins Island wind farm ruling ‘devastating’ for orange bellied parrots
A tribunal has overturned a requirement for a proposed wind farm to shut down for five months each year to protect migrating orange bellied parrots, in a major win for the industry. Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff on Monday welcomed as “pragmatic” an appeal ruling by the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal on the Robbins Island wind farm, proposed for the state’s far northwest. He said the decision effectively overruled an Environment Protection Authority ruling that would have killed the $1.6 . . . Complete story »
Oberon locals fear Labor’s wrecking wind towers
Nationals Leader David Littleproud and Senator Ross Cadell have met Oberon locals, concerned about plans for wind turbines in the areas as part of Labor’s reckless race to renewables. The Oberon Community Forum heard how prime agricultural and forestry land in the area could soon be ripped up for hundreds of wind turbines. Mr Littleproud said The Nationals are not against renewables, but regional Australia seems to be bearing the majority of them and we have the time to pause . . . Complete story »
State acting against Tasmanian interests in wind farm case, Labor claims
Lawyers for a government agency are acting against the interests of Tasmania in an ongoing legal case, by arguing that a decision forcing a proposed wind farm development to shut down for half the year should be upheld, Labor has claimed in parliament. At the start of the year, the state’s Environmental Protection Agency ruled that wind project proponent ACEN must shut its wind farm for five months of the year to protect an an endangered species of migrating bird. . . . Complete story »
NSW blots out nearly entire state for wind projects – few areas deemed “desirable” for turbines
The NSW government has blotted out nearly the entire state as “less suitable” for wind farms, with few if any areas deemed “desirable” for new projects under new draft planning guidelines issued on Tuesday. The guidelines, which include hefty new fees for wind and solar projects to provide funds to local communities as a way of overcoming social licence issues, are ostensibly about fast-tracking the planning process for new projects. Some developers, however, have deemed the new fees as a . . . Complete story »
Parliamentary committee investigates fake signatures on Illawarra wind farm petition
Almost 200 signatures have been found to be duplicates in an anti-wind farm petition that attracted over 11,000 signatures. The petition was presented to the House of Representatives today. Labor MP Susan Templeman, chair of the Petitions Committee, said that following reporting in the Mercury which revealed that anti-wind farm campaigners had offered prizes or vouchers for anti-wind farm signatures, the committee secretariat investigated whether the signatures on the petition were real. The secretariat found that nearly 200 names or . . . Complete story »
Plans for yet another massive wind farm in western Victoria
Plans for yet another massive wind farm have been unveiled for western Victoria. This time it is Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest’s Squadron Energy which has plans to build a 420 megawatt Moreton Hill wind farm south-west of Ballarat with 62 turbines. Victoria has some of the best wind resources in Australia. Dr Forrest’s company says it has already held meetings with “potential turbine hosts” and has also started talks with local landowners bordering the proposed site between Pittong (10 minutes from . . . Complete story »
