Probus September meeting: wind farm talk

Cooma Monaro Express
20/09/2007 Page: 12

THE Probus Club of Cooma was recently treated to an interesting and challenging talk on wind energy by Beverley Allen, representing Friends of Renewable Energy (of Berridale) with input from John, her husband. Beverley and her group organised a three-day tour of the Ararat wind farm installation in May this year in order to determine what effect the installation was having on the region.

The wind farm is already providing almost 2 per cent of Victoria's power requirements, so any assessment of its impact on the region would provide reliable input into the local debate on the desirability of the proposed wind farm in the Snowy Plains area of Snowy River Shire. Mention was also made of the Crookwell Wind Farm, which is more of a tourist attraction than an eyesore. Opposition to wind farms is based on various claims of environmental damage, including unsightliness, noise, the killing of birds, the effects on land values (the "Not in my backyard" argument), television reception, and so on.

Beverley and John between them refuted all these adverse claims. They pointed out that while some people may think the towers and rotating blade an eyesore, many of those they spoke to said they found them soothing. No one who has stood beneath a wind tower in full flight should be able to complain about noise ("It sounds just like my washing machine" was one comment). Figures on bird damage show that far more birds are killed by power lines, glass windows, cars and cats than by wind farms. Indeed, swans in Canada were observed threading their way between the towers along one riverside installation.

Beverley gave details of land value movements in the Ararat area: "Four years ago land was worth $400-$600 per acre; today values are as high as $1,800 an acre." Some of this increase was possibly due to the movement of Melbourne commuters into the country life style, but obviously the wind farm had done nothing to depress values. The effect on radio and television reception is still being assessed, but with the move to digital the effects will diminish even further.

Wind monitors have been set up all along the high country of New South Wales to assess the potential of various districts to sustain wind farms. Wind forces were compared, and although Victoria, with its proximity to "the roaring forties" gets more wind than the Monaro, wind figures here are not too far behind. Some time was then spent on urging Probeans to get enthusiastic about addressing climate change, including the obvious changing over to energy efficient lights and appliances, purchasing "Greenpower", reducing consumption, and so on. All in all it was a very interesting talk, and well received by club members.