Call to ease regulations for small wind farms

www.abc.net.au
Thu, 20 Sep 2012

The Hepburn Shire Council will lobby the Victorian Government to exempt community-based wind farms from strict regulations. A planning amendment introduced by the State Government last year prohibits new wind farms in certain areas and within 2 km of houses. The council adopted a motion at this week's meeting to express its ongoing support for renewable energy developments.

Mayor Sebastian Klein says small wind farms should not be treated the same as large-scale wind farms. "It basically asks for the State Government to make different considerations for community owned wind farms than I guess large-scale, corporate wind farms", he said. "So I guess small-scale community owned wind farms that provide back to the community have a community dividend and also have a much smaller footprint and a much smaller impact on the landscape and on people's amenity".