Embrace wind farms, Garrett tells NIMBYs

Australian
Friday 24/10/2008 Page: 8

Peter Garrett has called on Australians to "learn to love" wind farms, warning that too many alternative energy proposals have been rejected because of opposition from not in my back yard" activists. The Environment Minister has foreshadowed major changes in conservation spending, accusing the Howard government of using its multi-billion-dollar National Heritage Trust program for pork barreling, and vowing to deliver better and more co-ordinated environmental outcomes.

In an interview with The Australian in Canberra yesterday, Mr Garrett said he was worried by the number of wind farm proposals that had been refused because of community objections. "Australians have got to realise the time has come to embrace wind and wind farms in appropriate locations, bearing in mind they are going to be visible on the landscape that a not in my back yard' kind of mentality won't see us rolling out the deployment of wind that we need," Mr Garrett said.

Labor came to power last year promising to increase the use of renewable power sources to 20 per cent by 2020. It hopes to achieve the target through greater use of solar energy and emerging technologies such as wind and geothermal power. Australia has 45 wind farms generating 894 megawatts of power a year. But many proposals for wind farms have faced stiff local opposition in the rural communities in which they have been proposed. Mr Garrett said he had seen large arrays of wind farms in Europe and did not find them unattractive. "If we're going to be serious about lowering our emissions and producing energy in a cleaner way, then wind has a real role to play," he said.

"I think this is part of the modern landscape in the climate change age." Mr Garrett said proposals for wind farms had to be carefully considered and properly located, including paying heed to the flight paths of birds, scenic tourism value and the integrity of national parks. "But the fact is that for some people in the community, the thought of anything being on a hill or in an area which is considered unsightly can often slow down a process or see frustrating delays happen, or the power companies don't pursue it," he said. "We've got to learn to love wind and the look of wind farms.

It will be one of the primary technologies that fulfills the buy that generators and retailers will be looking for." Asked if the Rudd Government was prepared to offer locals a subsidy or incentive to make construction of wind farms more attractive, Mr Garrett said there was no need, because the introduction of mandatory renewable energy targets would boost the amount companies would pay landholders for their land.

The comments come before a meeting next month between Mr Garrett and state and territory environment ministers to discuss a proposal for national guidelines for wind farms, including best practice in site selection and community engagement for such projects. Mr Garrett said the Howard government had used its heritage trust program for pork-barreling in key electorates. He said Labor's new $2.25 billion, five-year Caring for our Country scheme would be much better targeted, and that councils, community conservation groups and universities would be encouraged to create partnerships to help protect and conserve large areas of land.