Wind farm faces fight

Ballarat Courier
Saturday 30/12/2006 Page: 5
By Danielle Perkins

MOORABOOL residents could be building up to blocking a third wind farm proposal for the shire. Two sites at Elaine and Yendon have been identified by WestWind Energy as a possible location for a $180 million project involving up to 50 towers.

Proposals that would have seen farms built at Clarkes Hill and Yalloak were abandoned after local opposition and environmental concerns. A local landowner, who did not want to be named, said discussions were afoot between residents living around the two sites.

"I can assure you that the many people I have talked with in the surrounding area are less than happy with the idea of this project going ahead - and will be fighting it all the way," he said. "Without going into detail, there are already plans under way to see what can be done to stop the proposal at Yendon."

Moorabool Shire's Cr Pat Toohey said he had been approached by residents with concerns, but the council did not yet have a firm opinion on the proposal. In this case, we haven't done an assessment yet on whether the two new sites are appropriate, but no doubt more information will cone out in time. It's very early days," he said.

"But wind farms should not be forced on communities; it should be something the community wants." The Moorabool ratepayer raised concerns including noise, shadow flicker from the rotating blades, decreased property values and interference with television reception.

But WestWind Energy spokesman Tobias Geiger said the concerns would all be allayed during the planning process. He said the company was required to comply with strict noise level and shadow flicker requirements. It is those two issues that normally determine how close we can go to a house, but as a matter of practical experience, to comply with both, the nearest a tower could be is between 500 and 700 metres," he said.

And in relation to property values, there have been numerous studies done worldwide and in Australia that all show no change in property values due to wind farms," he said. Mr Geiger said television reception was a consideration, but the company was required to carry out testing before and after the towers were built. It is very unlikely, but if it does deteriorate, we have to fix it," he said.

It is then up to us to install a satellite dish or similar." The resident said he and other neighbours were not against wind farms, but felt such projects should be in areas that were not populated. The wind farm will violate the very basis of what a zoning policy is meant to protect - the welfare of the people who already live in this community and its surrounds," he said.