Snowy residents get to air views on wind farms

Canberra Times
30/08/2006 Page: 9

While no show of hands was called for, a public forum in Cooma has come out in favour of wind farms. At least that's the view of a speaker enlisted to speak against them.

Ray Prowse, of the Australian National University's Centre of Sustainable Energy, spoke on wind farm alternatives at the forum on Friday night hosted by Cooma Monaro, Bombala and Snowy River Shire Councils.

He said after the meeting that while there was no consensus reached, he felt the majority of support was behind wind farms. Proposals for wind farms to be built near Canberra have generated fierce opposition from residents and property owners.

In 2003, Pacific Hydro put forward two proposals for wind farms near Cooma which the NSW Government has declared "state significant", but plans have since been put on hold pending further investigations into Commonwealth approvals and wind speeds.

Cooma's Mayor Roger Norton said Friday's forum was not meant to establish a position on wind farms, but to prepare communities with facts for when the state Government sought their views on new wind farms.

Speaking on alternative energy sources, the Australian National University's Mr Prowse said some Canadian homes were so well insulated that with minus 40 degrees outside temperature they didn't need heating inside, other than what was emitted from lights, appliances and body heat.

From being a world leader years ago in solar electronic energy like photovoltaics, Australia was lagging behind Germany, Japan, the United States and European countries.

Australia needed to sign up to the international Kyoto Protocol on climate change and set realistic energy efficiency targets. "We still do terrific research, but no market development," Mr Prowse said.

Other speakers included promninent Monaro grazier Jim Litchfield. Mr Litchfield, from the grazing property Hazeldean, believes wind farms don't generate enough electricity to justify the investment needed to establish them.

Mr Litchfield was agreeable when approached three years ago to putting wind turbines on the property, but further research changed his mind.

"If they go ahead they will be the most significant change to this landscape in 200 years, no question about that, and I think that would be very unfortunate, because there are so many parts of the world now spoilt, and we need to retain what we've got."

Quoting research from the United States' Princeton University, Mr Litcheld said there were better alternatives to tackle global warming, including conserving energy.

Mayor Norton thought wind farms were unlikely to multiply around the country in the near future because the cost equation was $35 worth of marketable energy for every $80 invested.