A proposal for a wind farm in the Yass Valley has faced criticism and pushback after residents refused to have the farm placed on their doorstep, while cities continue to avoid it.
One Binalong farmer in particular, Emma Webb, has campaigned against it, saying the region surrounding her family’s property on the NSW Southern Tablelands is becoming an “industrial junkyard.”
The company Wind Prospect is preparing a scoping report for their Bendenine Wind Farm that will see up to 90 turbines, each 260 metres tall, plonked on Webb’s doorstep.
Six more wind and solar projects have recently been approved in the Yass Valley and the neighbouring Upper Lachlan Shire by the New South Wales Department of Planning. She fears that the approved six wind and solar projects across both Yass and Upper Lachlan Shire nearby will only be the start, while the districts already host 42 per cent of the state’s wind turbines.
Webb told the media, “There is an overwhelming sense of powerlessness.”There needs to be a consideration of the cumulative impacts … this region is already saturated.” Webb said it isn’t about climate change, which farmers are well aware of the effects of, but it’s about the integrity of rural communities and not letting Governments dump these projects in regional communities without a fair balance.
“People in the cities delegate the enormous responsibility of growing their food to farmers, and we do that under very difficult circumstances. “Now we are also being lumped with the burden of energy production. “The consequence is that our home, our community, our landscape will never be the same again. “Huge impacts are being felt from this proposal immediately.”
Wind Prospect said it understood concerns about the number of renewable energy projects proposed across the region. Yass Valley Council has passed a motion calling for the state government to stop approving renewable projects in the district, recently, with Mayor Jasmin Jones saying the wind and solar projects in the region already power 500,000 homes.”We are not NIMBYs [Not In My Backyard], we have done some heavy lifting,” Jones said.
“There seems to be no line in the sand coming from the state or federal government.” Council does not fall within one of the five renewable energy zones (REZ) the state government identified in 2021 as being ideal locations for wind and solar power. Proponents of REZ wind farms were required to engage with Councils and residents over community funding programs, consultation sessions and neighbourhood agreements among affected landholders. Since 2021, there have been 22 renewable energy projects approved within the REZs, while 25 have been given the green light outside the five areas.
“These companies have cottoned on that it is easier to get their projects approved in non-REZs,” Jones continued.
NSW Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully said in a statement that the guidelines for renewable projects ensured that communities received “equitable benefit” as part of the planning process. “The guidelines are transparent, community-focused and deliver positive, tangible and long-term socio-economic benefits.”
Scully said the planning process for renewables projects assessed the “social and environmental impacts” and how they could be managed. Wind Prospect said it understood concerns about the number of renewable energy projects proposed across the region.
“Cumulative impacts, including social factors, will be carefully assessed as part of the Environmental Impact Statement,” a Wind Prospect spokesperson told the media.”We remain committed to open, respectful engagement and to delivering a well-considered project that minimises impacts and brings lasting local benefits.”
Government Develops Rating Scheme
The Australian Government on Tuesday announced a way they say will improve the way developers engage with communities when developing clean energy infrastructure. This infrastructure includes renewable energy developments as well as energy storage and major transmission lines. The Australian Government has introduced a new Clean Energy Developer Rating Scheme in order to do this.
The Scheme aims to provide landholders and communities with greater transparency and confidence about companies that propose new energy infrastructure in their area.
Equifax Australasia Credit Ratings Pty Ltd (EACR) has been appointed to design, develop, implement and operate the scheme following an open tender process. EACR has commenced the pilot as part of testing the scheme. As part of the pilot, EACR will be testing the scheme with those eligible renewable energy businesses that responded to the Registration of Interest process earlier this year. This means a company has to volunteer to be rated by it.
Mayor Jones questioned the implementation of this, saying it is “toothless”.”It’s good to see that the government is acknowledging that it is not all tea and scones, that there are bad operators and cowboys out there. Having said that, the fact that it’s voluntary makes it essentially useless for our community because operators, like whether a developer is bad or good, as rated by this scheme, is meaningless if they can still go in, do a deal with just one or two property owners, then everyone else is left with the impact. It won’t change that.
“It won’t change that our community says we’re at capacity and we’ve done our heavy lifting, and to put any more in is detrimental for our community. “Two decades ago, turbines were 80 metres tall. Then they went to 100, then 150.
“If they increase those setbacks of where they could be about dwellings to five kilometres, I think that would halve the amount of issues communities are having, for a start. “It’s just acknowledging, again, that we’re already at capacity. It certainly doesn’t address the lived experience that we’re going through right now with operators who weren’t turning up to their consultation meetings, booking cafes, and then not showing.
“It might help the next community, but it’s not helping us who are living it right now. We need the Government to legislate and actually regulate correctly, instead of having this hands-off approach. “Oh well, we will regulate if they’re bad operators. Well, this is a voluntary scheme. If they want to avoid going into the scheme, they won’t be on the list. “That won’t stop them from getting a green light from a planning department. “There are no teeth in this whatsoever.
“What this scheme won’t do is protect us from the cumulative impact of all these renewable energy projects in Yass Valley. “It won’t protect us from the threats to our ability to protect ourselves from bushfires, which is a growing issue. “I’m concerned that these new proposals have a turbine layout that isn’t seen in the previous ones that have been approved. “These will see an east/west configuration, which has real implications for our ability to protect our communities from bushfires. “That’s where I think this is a bit of a straw man. “We can say we love or hate this rating scheme, but it’s not going to change the fact that our community is already at the saturation point, regardless of whether this is a success or not.
“This is no longer a rural issue for Yass Valley, it’s Yass Valley wide, as we saw with the application in Murrumbateman in the heart of our winery trail, no less, where the State Government has given us, with one hand $2 million to assist and create the winery trail and then….there’s a battery energy storage system proposed for Turton Place, with 10 iconic wineries located within two kilometres of it.
“It is utter madness that this renewable energy rollout seems to be at the cost of regional communities. [If there was a bushfire, then we would lose] everything that we’ve built for decades, including a winery industry that generates millions of dollars each year into our community and contributes to the gross domestic productivity of our country.”
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