Winding up the neighbourhood

Ballarat Courier
19/05/2007 Page: 5

DOUG Hobson believes Victoria is facing two major resource and infrastructure problems - one is water, the other electricity. For Mr Hobson, a farmer, wind turbines are part of a solution to a shortage of energy. On an 80ha property at Addington that Mr Hobson shares with his wife, Annette, and brother, Barry, five turbines are being built. Roads to each site are in place and excavations for each turbine are complete. Over the next few weeks concrete will be poured into the holes which are 11m by 11m and about 1.5m deep.

For several years Mr Hobson had thought the farm on elevated land was suitable for turbines - it was often windy on the hilly land but calm at his home at nearby Weatherboard. So when he was approached by Wind Power with a proposal for a turbine project his family was open to the idea. Wind Power has since handed the project to Acciona Energy.

He is familiar with the criticisms about the wind farms and rumours of rates skyrocketing. As far as we know they (rates) shouldn't be any different because we don't own the turbines," he said. If we owned the things they would probably be seen as a capital improvement."

Ballarat council financial operations manager Rod Leith said it was likely there would be no change to the amount paid in rates by the farmer unless the turbines dramatically increased a property's value. Mr Hobson is happy to talk to people about the turbines and says he would rather live near a wind turbine than a coal-fired power station. Mr Hobson said another attraction was that farming could continue around turbines and they would generate income.