The Gullen Range Wind Farm will remain as is despite a rejection of a turbine modification application by the NSW Planning Assessment Commission late last week.
The Gullen Range Wind Farm will remain as is despite a rejection of a turbine modification application by the NSW Planning Assessment Commission late last week.
The Gullen Range Wind Farm will remain as is despite a rejection of a turbine modification application by the NSW Planning Assessment Commission late last week.
The commission ruled against the wind farm, near Goulburn, moving most of its 73 turbines which have already been installed. But the wind farm's owners, Chinese-based Goldwind, say the project will continue under the existing Land and Environment Court approval, saying "PAC did not impose any conditions on the project despite DPE recommending approval based on a set of conditions".
“The existing approval provides flexibility about the final location of turbines,” a spokesperson told The Goulburn Post, adding: "In making their decision it is (the company’s) view that the PAC …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]The Gullen Range Wind Farm will remain as is despite a rejection of a turbine modification application by the NSW Planning Assessment Commission late last week.
The commission ruled against the wind farm, near Goulburn, moving most of its 73 turbines which have already been installed. But the wind farm's owners, Chinese-based Goldwind, say the project will continue under the existing Land and Environment Court approval, saying "PAC did not impose any conditions on the project despite DPE recommending approval based on a set of conditions".
“The existing approval provides flexibility about the final location of turbines,” a spokesperson told The Goulburn Post, adding: "In making their decision it is (the company’s) view that the PAC has misunderstood and misapplied the “Draft NSW Planning Guidelines: Wind Farms."
The commission said Goldwind placed 69 of the 73 turbines away from the originally approved plan, "68 per cent by less than 50m, others of significant distance, up to 187m".
But the PAC refused a retrospective application on the basis that it was "inconsistent with the intent and spirit of the draft NSW Planning Guidelines for Wind Farms".
“This raises the adequacy of the original application for suitability of locations and their impact on residences, particularly non-associated houses," it said.
In July, the NSW Department of Planning recommended that just two of the turbines be relocated due to adverse impact, but that vegetation buffers could offset the effects of the others, The Goulburn Post reports, with a third turbine added last month.