Wind queue gets longer

The Land
Thursday 8/3/2007 Page: 28

NSW Planning Minister, Frank Sartor, has approved a 15-turbine wind farm on the Cullerin range south-west of Goulburn, but the project could join the queue of approved wind farms that have been abandoned or whose start has suffered lengthy delays.

The developer, the global alternative energy company, Epuron Pty Ltd, wants to see the detail of the NSW Government's proposed legislation for mandating renewable energy targets before committing itself.

The Government last year announced renewable energy targets of 10 per cent of NSW end use consumption by 2010 and 15pc by 2020, but went into caretaker mode on Monday in the lead up to the March 24 State election.

Delta Energy, which gained approval about two years ago for a 31-tower project on the property "Walwa" near Gunning, has since backed out. There has also been no start on the 50-turbine Crookwell 2 wind farm which was approved several months ago, though work could start later this year. Projects have been on hold because the Federal Government's national Mandatory Renewable Energy Target of 9500 gigawatt hours (about two per cent of national electricity use) by 2010 is well on the way to being met.

The NSW Government's new targets could start wheels turning again, but developers say there is also a long time lag on delivery of wind turbines because of big demand in the US and China. Owner of "Walwa", Alan McCormack, said he now held the development approval for the former Delta project and was negotiating with several interested companies.

All the wind farms referred to are in Upper Lachlan Shire and all have met vocal opposition from some local landholders. The Land and Environment Court in early February dismissed an appeal by local landholders against a 62-tower wind farm at Taralga, though Justice Brian Preston conceded their objections had resulted in a better project and greater environmental protection.

Mr Sartor in approving the Cullerin range wind farm said that based on community feedback he had imposed about 100 conditions on the proposal. These included a requirement for the developer to negotiate individual landscaping for residents within four kilometres of the wind farm to help minimise visual impact and for the project to comply with noise limits.

Australian executive director of Epuron (which acquired a majority shareholder in the original proponent, Taurus Energy, in 2005), Martin Poole, said the company would continue planning the project but would not order turbines until it saw the detail of the proposed NSW legislation. "We have to know we are going ahead before we order them," Mr Poole said.

The latest wind farm proposal to emerge is a seven turbine scheme on top of the flat-topped Mt Oxley which rises 300 metres above the plains about 30 kilometres south of Bourke. However, the council's economic development officer, Phil Johnston, said the council had been holding behind the scenes talks with the developer, Babcock and Brown, for about five years. He said Telstra already had an 80-metre communications tower on Mt Oxley and the council had needed to resolve whether a wind farm would interfere with that.