A group of involved residents have vowed to fight a proposed new wind farm within the south-west. Forming the Ecklin-Elingamite-Glenfyne Neighborhood Association, about 30 residents have raised concerns regarding the Mumblin Wind Farm. The proposed wind farm, that will be about eight kilometres south-west of Cobden, will include as much as 10-15 turbines producing 60-megawatt.
A group of involved residents have vowed to fight a proposed new wind farm within the south-west. Forming the Ecklin-Elingamite-Glenfyne Neighborhood Association, about 30 residents have raised concerns regarding the Mumblin Wind Farm. The proposed wind farm, that will be about eight kilometres south-west of Cobden, will include as much as 10-15 turbines producing 60-megawatt.
A group of involved residents have vowed to fight a proposed new wind farm within the south-west.
Forming the Ecklin-Elingamite-Glenfyne Neighborhood Association, about 30 residents have raised concerns regarding the Mumblin Wind Farm.
The proposed wind farm, that will be about eight kilometres south-west of Cobden, will include as much as 10-15 turbines producing 60-megawatt.
The generators themselves might be 250 metres in height and can produce sufficient energy for roughly 35,000 houses.
Group spokeswoman Dayle Smithwick stated the group was not against wind farms however the place they might be situated. She stated the proposed location from the intersection of Cobden-Warrnambool Highway and Curdies-Leichfield Highway throughout to …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]A group of involved residents have vowed to fight a proposed new wind farm within the south-west.
Forming the Ecklin-Elingamite-Glenfyne Neighborhood Association, about 30 residents have raised concerns regarding the Mumblin Wind Farm.
The proposed wind farm, that will be about eight kilometres south-west of Cobden, will include as much as 10-15 turbines producing 60-megawatt.
The generators themselves might be 250 metres in height and can produce sufficient energy for roughly 35,000 houses.
Group spokeswoman Dayle Smithwick stated the group was not against wind farms however the place they might be situated. She stated the proposed location from the intersection of Cobden-Warrnambool Highway and Curdies-Leichfield Highway throughout to Walsh’s Highway, was space devoted to intensive farming and situated near quite a few dwellings.
“Local weather change is going on. This is the wrong place to locate a wind farm,” Ms Smithwick stated.
“It is a highly dense farming area and the generators are too close to houses.
“Remember the St Patrick’s Day fires. As soon as the generators go up we won’t have any CFA aerial help in any respect.
“It is a massive fear for farmers who all relied closely on helicopters to put the fires out.”
The association has already raised more than $20,000 in to cover costs to hire DST Authorized principal lawyer Dominica Tannock, who has represented communities in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia in wind farm disputes.
“These wind generators which are moving into our neighborhood are the most important ones within the Southern Hemisphere,” Ms Smithwick stated.
Roughly 150 neighborhood people attended a gathering in Ecklin on the Mumblin Wind Farm final week. Developer RE Future Pty Ltd must determine if it can connect the project with the electrical energy grid through the Cobden Zone Substation.
Venture director Severin Staalesen stated the location was applicable.
“This site was chosen for numerous reasons. It has an excellent wind resource, it has good entry to main roads, it is situated in a space devoted to intensive dairy farming, it is situated away from essential infrastructure like airports and telecommunications amenities, and it has good setbacks to dwellings,” Mr Staalesen stated.
The corporation is conducting technical research that may inform the planning authority.
Completion of the project will take as much as three years.
To this point, the company has had over 40 meetings with residents within the project area.
The wind farm will make numerous monetary contributions to the community, including a $48,000 annual neighborhood fund, a $3000 annual money fee to all residents situated within two kilometres of a wind turbine, and over $100,000 in shire charges every year.
All homes within three kilometres of a turbine might earn a $15,000 solar-battery system, and all homes between three and 4 kilometres of a turbine $6000 {solar} system.
Mr Staalesen stated the wind farm would look to make use of native quarries, transport firms, and development contractors throughout development and create jobs via ongoing wind turbine upkeep.
“As with all our wind farm initiatives, we began by sending a data pamphlet to everybody living within 5 kilometres of the project area which defines the perimeter of the project. The pamphlet provided our contact information and an offer to meet with anybody who wishes to speak to us,” Mr Staalesen stated.
“We’ll proceed to make ourselves accessible to anybody who wishes to ask us questions in regards to the project.
“Throughout our visits some native residents have raised considerations about wildlife, bushfire dangers, noise emissions, and impacts to aerial spraying. We perceive these considerations and we are going to deal with all of them within the planning process, which we’ll make publicly accessible.”
He stated that 5 days was not sufficient time for them to attend the neighborhood wind farm meeting.
“We have let the organisers know we’re available all the time to meet in person to discuss any questions or considerations they have.
“Naturally, we are going to make ourselves accessible to the Corangamite Shire Council at any time.”
Polwarth MP Richard Riordan expressed concern that the state’s energy grid could be at capacity by the point the wind farm was constructed.
“There isn’t any capacity left,” he stated.
Before constructing the facility, the company would need to confirm there was sufficient capacity within the system for the wind farm.
“If a wind farm cannot connect with the electrical energy grid, or if it fails to produce sufficient energy to be commercially viable, then it merely will not get constructed,” Mr Staalesen stated.
Corangamite Shire councillor Jamie Vogels shared considerations in regards to the buffer zone of the wind farm. He is aware that the federal government has revived the minimal two kilometres buffer zone on 10 occasions during the peak of the construction.
The application for the Mumblin Wind Farm might be submitted with the Minister for Planning in 2022.