Farmers reap the wind - and profits

Canberra Times
Tuesday 5/8/2008 Page: 3

Contentious wind farms worth hundreds of millions of dollars are offering farmers and drought stricken rural communities a fresh income stream. Work has started on a$ 100 million wind farm near Crookwell, and a planning application has been lodged for a $300 million installation nearby. The two projects are in Upper Lachlan Shire Council, which is holding a plebiscite coinciding with council elections next month on whether people support more wind farms.

Crookwell farmer Charlie Prell sees wind farms as the way to drought-proof his property and with two neighbours is negotiating leasing land for turbines. In a separate development, work on Origin Energy's $100 million wind farm on the Cullerin Range, 12km east of Gunning, is tender way, providing business for electricians and fencing and concrete contractors.

Construction manager Paul Bultitude said they would pour 400 tonnes of concrete and use 40 tonnes of reinforcement steel in each one of the 15 foundations of the 80m-high turbines. The wind farm should be running by June 2009, providing enough electricity to power almost 15,000 homes. Origin Energy has 360,000 "green" customers and says it is the largest buyer of wind farm energy from other wind farms in Australia.

Public relations manager Yvette Reade said Cullerin Range farm was Origin Energy's first farm. It had acquired rights from Epuron to develop wind farms at Conroy's Gap, west of Yass, and the Snowy Plains near Cooma. Epuron, a multi-national project developer and financier which has several NSW wind farts projects, sold Cullerin Range to Origin Energy, and has lodged plans with NSW Planning for a $300 million wind farm, on four ridges 25km north-west of Goulburn, near Crookwell.

Epuron owns and operates one of the largest wind monitoring networks in NSW. Executive director Martin Poole said the combination of high wind speeds and proximity to large transmission lines gave the Southern Tablelands an advantage over windier areas in western Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia.

The proposed Gullen Range project would comprise up to 84 wind turbines, substation and transmission connections linked to the TransGrid 330kV line, an on-site control room and maintenance facilities. The turbines would generate enough power for 70,000 to 100,000 homes.

Mr Poole said,"We are definitely looking at other sites in the area. It has good combination of characteristics." Mr Prell and two neighbours have signed with TME Australia, a Spanish backed wind farm consortium, to develop 46 turbines on their properties between CrookWell and Goulburn.

While some neighbours are opposed to wind farms, Mr Prell said the Southern Tablelands between the Brindabella Mountains and Oberon rated highly in the renewable energy industry.