SA Opposition wind policy threatens $3 billion investment

Clean Energy Council
6 Jan 2012

The South Australian Opposition's policy on wind farms would threaten more than $3 billion of investment and push up power prices for South Australian householders if implemented in its current form, the renewable energy industry's peak body said today.

It would also place in doubt the creation of nearly 1,000 direct jobs, Clean Energy Council Acting CEO, Kane Thornton, said. "It is unfortunate the wind industry was not consulted on this policy", Mr Thornton said. "But we now look forward to working with the South Australian Liberal Party to ensure they understand the value of the wind industry to the state, and to provide them with a more complete understanding of wind farms and associated issues".

Mr Thornton said South Australia was currently leading the nation in using wind power to generate electricity. "South Australia now gets over 20% of its electricity from wind power; one of the reasons the state's carbon emissions fell by 18% over the past five years". Mr Thornton said Australian wind farms were already subject to the toughest planning guidelines in the world in relation to their siting, operation and permissible noise levels. Wind energy also currently enjoyed strong support from over 80% of Australians.

"While the Australian wind industry is keen to work with the community to address any legitimate concerns that may arise with regard to specific projects, the proposed blanket two-km no-go zones for wind farms are likely to drive future wind investment to other states", Mr Thornton said. "Guidelines currently in place ensure the proper balance between wind farm developments and community is reached throughout South Australia".

South Australian wind farms currently generate enough energy to power 482,836 homes annually. Capital investment of $2.792 billion has so far been made in South Australian wind farms, creating 806 direct jobs and 2417 indirect jobs. "Projects worth a further $3.078 billion are currently proposed for South Australia that would power more than 567,000 homes and create 948 direct jobs", Mr Thornton said. "But measures like two-km setbacks would place all this under threat.

"The proposed two-km setbacks have no precedent in other infrastructure developments-be it roads, power lines or factories-and are likely to create insurmountable challenges for wind projects. "As we've seen in Victoria, such measures would effectively make South Australia a 'no-go' zone for wind farms, driving billions of dollars of investment from the state. "In addition, South Australians would see higher electricity prices as future renewable energy will need to come from higher cost sources.

"Unnecessary restrictions on where renewable energy projects can be built will only serve to drive up the cost of electricity to South Australian consumers. "South Australia has created an investment-friendly environment through an efficient and transparent planning regime, and we're really keen to work with future governments to see that retained".