Hills of Gold Wind Farm

The latest submission from the proponents does not have a viable route to this project. The land is very steep, there is a lack of landholders’ permissions plus the suggested use of Crown Land has no validity as there’s no permission for this and the land is subject to Native Title Claim and Aboriginal Land Claim.
Alteration to roads and intersection is not viable nor is the ridiculous idea that huge oversize and overmass vehicles and components should be brought through the residential streets of Nundle with resultant damage to the many plantings of beautiful deciduous trees that have been carried out by the Nundle Garden Club over a great number of years, including the plantings (originally memorial to the fallen of the First World War) along the median strip opposite the Nundle Memorial Hall.
The destruction of vegetation and movement of earth will have an impact on storm water runoff as will the huge swathes of ridgeline movement proposed for the construction of this project. Still the proponents do not give any clear assessment of the impact of the huge amounts of earth movement and vegetation destruction required and being promoted in the cause of saving the environment while in truth destroying great areas of a pristine environment
Any and all suggested routes will impact detrimentally on Nundle town ingress and egress with great inconvenience to workers and log movement from the pine forest.
The impact on aerial fauna and on koala habitat must surely be hugely detrimental. This factor has still not been properly assessed despite proponents being given continuing opportunity over three years to address these issues.
The visual impact of over 60 huge turbines on what should be beautiful undamaged hills of the Great Dividing Range will be horrifying. The 56 red warning lights at night – as required by CASA -will certainly adversely affect star gazing, nor have the effects on aerial firefighting, wild dog baiting and aerial top dressing been rigorously addressed.
The fact that Tamworth Regional Council has twice unanimously rejected this proposal on the advice of their Engineering Department’s in depth report surely indicates just how disastrous would be approval of this project.

Involves unacceptable amounts of vegetation clearing which will then endanger and negatively impact many various species of flora and fauna

See attached

I object to the project as my family has a house and property in the area and I believe it will be detrimental to the environment and will ruin the beautiful landscape. I also believe it will cause problems with the local roads and cause health problems for those of us who live in the area or come regularly for holidays.

This plan tables 13 threatened native animal recorded in or within 2kms of the Park. This is wholly within the Development footprint of the HOG Wind Farm. How can this be acceptable to disturb the lifecycle of these animals?

The truth has not been published about these renewable projects. I cannot support these wind farms, the destruction to the land, the wildlife, the increased truck traffic, the damage to rural roads, not to mention the increase to power bills for everyone!. There is concern about the impact to the safety of rural firefighting planes - are these turbines on a flight path in fire season? Will they be a hazard to the planes and helicopters?
The big impact I see is the life span of these huge turbines - where do they go when they need replacing? They are not renewable; they are made with many toxic metals and minerals - they will be buried and have a huge negative effect on our soils and waterways. This is all about money not the environment. We want a complete public debate about these issues and we need it now - get the truth out there and let the people decide whether they want renewable energy at this huge cost not just to our power bills but to our beautiful landscape and environment.

My name is Jack and I am 6 years old.

My grandparents live on farmland near the proposed windfarm site. I love going to the farm and seeing all the animals and wildlife, playing at the river and spotting koalas and other cute Australian animals which make the area so unique.

I don’t have many asks of local councils or governments at my age but my requests or expectations are very simple. As I grow up in the years to come I want the local area surrounding my parents’ farm to continue to provide habitats for local endangered flora and fauna and koala habitats, and I want to be able to continue visiting this beautiful area.

I love koalas and believe we have an obligation to do all we can to protect them and encourage their survival. And above all that means not doing anything which risks even potentially destroying Their habitat - which has become sacred.

I also expect natural water sources in the area to be protected and ideally improved. I couldn’t visit my grandparents’ farm for 1-2 years during the recent droughts because it was too dry even to feed the animals or allow my grandparents to bath/shower - there wasn’t even a drip of water available to allow anyone else (like me) to visit the region. All the cows had to be removed and beautiful horses and other animals suffered terribly. Some of the horses died which was very sad and all the animals were so thin they looked terrible. The rivers turned to red dust as did all the land around the area. It lasted so long we felt it would stay like that forever, I didn’t know when or if I would ever be able to visit the farm and the local area again. I never want that to happen again. It scare me to think the next time it does happen the drought could be even worse.

The proposed windfarm site risks cutting off critical natural water sources to the local area (which includes my grandparents’ farm and all the surrounding farms which rely on these natural water sources and rivers). This could cause the local area to be even worse impacted by any future drought event.

How could this ever be justified? Especially with recent drought and bushfire events so vivid in our memories and all the promises made by governments and local governing bodies that protection of water sources and the environment would be the number one/critical priorities to future-proof our nation for generations like mine. In particular for the regional communities who suffered so terribly during recent droughts and bushfires.

It wouldnt be fair or reasonable for those responsible to now (in the space of just a few years since devastating droughts in the same area) allow a commercial company like Engie to be permitted to build an enormous windfarm of the kind proposed, in a drought-prone region such as this (with endangered flora and fauna and koala habitat). When it comes to matters like protecting local water sources and critical environment (flora/fauna) and koalas, these should never ever be superseded by an opportunity for a company to realise commercial profits.

I don’t ask much, but I do ask the local councils, NSW and Commonwealth governments to learn from the terrible lessons we have learned in the past and to comply with the duty of care they owe to me and my generation to protect our local environment into the future. A project such as the Hills of Gold windfarm risks causing irreparable damage to the local community and environment which should and could never be outweighed by any of the stated objectives of the project.

I am all for renewable energy and wind farms etc, but please tell Engie to go and find another site in an area which won’t risk cutting off water supply to the local community and ruining precious local habitat of koala and other fauna. That is all I ask.

Thank you for listening and for caring.
Jack

It is unacceptable that this project will involve clearing 447ha of vegetation with profound ecological consequences. It will impact 17 Community types, 2 state listed threatened ecological Communities, 2 nationally listed CEECs, 10 state listed fauna BAM species credit species (8 mammals/1 amphibian/1 reptile) , 5 nationally listed threatened species (Koala/Pied Bat/Greater Glider/Spotted-tailed Quoll/Booroolong Frog and the protected Nankeen Kestral, brown goshawk and wedge-tailed eagles.

I strongly object to the Hills of Gold Wind Farm and the Amended DA.
For nearly 5 years I have watched our small village turn from an enchanting place full of positivity into a town of negativity anger and so much angst.
These developers who most probably live in the northern beaches in Sydney have come to our beautiful mountain country and have completely divided our community into those who want to enjoy the reason they live here and those that believe free money will make their lives better.
The school bus routes and travel on Crawney Road and around the village will be heavily affected by heavy vehicles and workers.
No one has offered to ever communicate with me, these developers always talk to my husband but only once I have met them.
As on mother I have a responsibility to look out for the welfare of our kids and Nundle cannot handle this sort of development, not to mention our roads are mostly 100km zones and everyone speeds going to work, these workers will be no different.
I object to houses been removed in Nundle and roads built behind the Peel Inn, why even try and suggest this, is it to further anger our community.
The desire to destroy our village roads, our village lifestyle, our beautiful mountain backdrop that we see all the way from Tamworth, all the way along the New England Highway and all the way along Lindsay Gap Road and Crawney Road.
It seems our rivers are not safe from landslips, soil erosion, our flora and fauna are not safe, our Nation Parks, Nature Reserves are not safe.
Nothing is sacred to these developers.
Every part of the Nundle we love is under threat, from the drive into Nundle, living in the village, going to Hanging Rock, along Crawney Road, the ridgeline and our night skies.
This development is in the wrong place and I will never support it or support money raised from it or support committees or events using money derived from this wind farm.
If this wind farm succeeds in approval, it will most certainly fail in community harmony at a cost to the environment too.

I object to the Engie Hills of Gold Wind Farm application. I wish to note that all of my previous objections to the original EIS remain current and applicable to this Amendment Report, November 2022.

Our family own and live on farmland in the community which surrounds the proposed windfarm site. The proposed site sits in a region of NSW which was severely badly impacted during the droughts. The town of Murrurundi and surrounding areas were on the highest grade water restrictions for almost a year. Children couldn’t even brush their teeth let alone have enough water to wash themselves. Even during La Niña over the past two years the local area has not experienced significant rainfall like other areas. This makes the area significantly prone to drought. We watched the local communities suffer terribly due to a lack of water. Farmers who have lived here for generations had to kill all their livestock due to a lack of food and water (and thus cut off any income/livelihood). People took their own lives and families were completely destroyed. This all happened only a few years ago and as La Niña ends we should expect these events will occur again soon and more frequently. Even if water now becomes available to Murrurundi township (due to recent pipelines), the vast surrounding farm areas will not have access and those people/animals will continue to rely on natural water sources.
Learning from the lessons of the past, the NSW and Commonwealth governments have a duty of care to these communities to both protect and ameliorate (and ideally build) water sources. At the very least, any project which has even potential to destroy or impair (even if this is only a speculative risk!) a community’s access to natural water sources should be rejected immediately. The Hills of Gold windfarm is one such project. It is hard to imagine a more devastating scenario than the recent drought events and the impact this had on the communities which surround the proposed site. If the Hills of Gold windfarm project is approved and goes ahead such devastation is inevitable. This cannot occur. The NSW and Commonwealth Governments owe a duty of care to the NSW/Australian people to do better and to mitigate such risks. In this case, that can only mean rejecting the proposed windfarm outright and if necessary relocating this to a more appropriate site outside a drought-prone region and with no (or limited) risk to critically endangered fauna and flora.

My further key reasons for my objections are as follow.

LOCATION OF THE SITE

• The site for Engie’s Hills of Gold (HOG) Wind Farm remains a major objection to this development. This is not about the value of wind farms as a natural resource and alternative energy source, but about the considered choice of an appropriate location to build a large industrial complex, such as this wind farm. This site is completely unacceptable on many levels.

• The site Engie have proposed:

- Sits on top of the ridgeline of the Liverpool Ranges – part of the Great Dividing Range, with elevations of 1100m - 1400m, and with a 230 wind tower installed, the overall height atop the Range will be over 1600+ m.
- Has a Development footprint sitting on the boundaries of the Crawney Pass National Park, the Ben Halls Gap Nature Reserve (BHGNR) as well as the Ben Halls Gap State Forest.
- Threatens the connectivity corridor for threatened species.
- Consists of steep slopes on the southern side (the Crawney and Timor Communities side) of the Development that reach over 50% gradient in sections and have a high risk of erosion and dispersion (land slides) which have recently occurred on the Crawney Pass Road, as testament.
- Will involve clearing 447ha of vegetation with profound ecological consequences.
- The required clearing that will severely impact 17 Plant communities; 2 State –Listed Threatened Ecological Communities; 2 Nationally-listed Critically Endangered Ecological Communities; 10 State –listed BAM (Biodiversity Assessment Method 2020) species credit species; 5 Nationally –listed threatened fauna; collision risk to Protected avifauna.
- Is the source of 14 primary water courses, which are the life blood of the communities, who live in the area.
- is comprised of soils that are of a Class 7/8 which are categorised as “extremely low capability land; limitations are so severe that the land is incapable of sustaining any land use apart from nature conservation. There should be no disturbance of native vegetation. Class 8 land includes precipitous slopes (greater than 50%) and cliffs, areas with a large proportion of rock outcrop or areas subject to regular inundation and waterlogging”.
• Engie acknowledge that this project is outside of the REZ.

I trust those responsible to make the right decision having regard to their duty of care to the NSW people and local communities (not to mention our local environment and special fauna) and to reject this proposal once and for all.

Kind regards

I am 15 years old.
I love Nundle and the hills of gold.
I have lived here all my life and dream about when I am older of living here.
Now I am not so sure because when you see the photos of the wind farm machines all across the hills and you think what will need to happen to build all the roads on the mountain, I think Nundle will lose its charm.
Everyday I catch a school bus to school, it take us 1 hour and a half, I don't like all the time in the bus and we are always having to slow down for the log trucks who drive so fast and all the roads are always damaged.
I know if a windfarm is built there will be so many more trucks and cars all rushing to go to work and rushing to go home because thats what trucks and work people do escpecially workmen.
They dont care about school buses and us.
Also the nature, I know that we have places where koalas live and hanging Rock has alot of wombats, quolls, bats, eagles and even we have special Booroolong frogs found nowhwere else.
Please don't take away our mountain and build holes for concrete and fill our water creeks with dirt, please dont wreck our night skies with flashing lights I have seen these lights at Glen Innes and they are not so good.
I have even seen windfarms on the way to Canberra but they are not on amzing mountains like Nundle.
I dont want a windfarm to grow old with I want Nundle to go back to been the special place we all remember

Nundle is a special place to me, I have lived all my life here, I have a lot of my family here.
I object to the windfarm because I don't think the mountains behind Nundle are the right place for industrial development.
This wind farm seems to be more about people making money or jobs so people can make money than it does have to do about looking after our home and our environment.
Nundle is a very special place, everyone knows that it is special, there are always shows about Nundle and festivals and special weekends but now everyone is scared and friends are not friends anymore we used to go around Nundle and everyone was happy now its not the same anymore.
Please dont wreck our environment, dont wreck our little village, I will be 40 years old when the wind farm wil be pulled down but I will want to stay here when i get older not live with everything sad and wrecked.
Windfarms should be built away from nature and close to cities or roads or where people want them not here in Nundle.

I am 16 years old and have grown up my whole life in Nundle and surrounded by the beautiful ridgeline.
I feel connected to the nature, the night skies and the quiet lifestyle.
I know we need renewable energy to help save our planet, but I don't think we should sacrifice small communities like Nundle or the special mountains, bird life, wild life, creeks and rivers to achieve this.
I Object to this project and the amendment, I think this wind farm should be built somewhere else, somewhere that nature doesn't have to be destroyed somewhere that all people who live in the village or properties around the wind farm like the idea.

I visit the area along Crawney Rd as a tourist regularly and I think the natural beauty of the area needs to be preserved. The turbine towers will destroy the appearance of the escarpment, which is just so beautiful. I understand that 447 hectares of native vegetation will be cleared in areas bordering the Crawney Pass National Park and Ben Halls Gap Nature reserve, and that the destruction will include koala habitat. I just can't believe that our endangered iconic koalas can be considered expendable for the sake of this project. I know there are other threated species such as the greater glider and the spotted quoll that occur in the areas that will be cleared. And the Booroolong frog. Australia, to its shame, has lost too many threatened species. We need to reject any industrial development that will destroy habitat for threatened and endangered species. That includes plant species. I know That the proposed site for the wind turbines and access roads includes threatened plant species such as the white box and yellow box. We need wind farms but the idea that we could destroy such wonderful ecosystems is unconscionable. I urge you to reject the HOG wind farm proposal.

I strongly OBJECT to the Hills of Gold Wind Farm proposal ID No. SSD9679 and their amended proposal, please see attachment.

Objecting submission attached. Please withhold my personal information.

Submission for Objection to Amendment DA
DPIE to question the integrity of this proposal and development.
DPIE to address the transparency and consultation of the
developers.
At a public meeting nearly 5 years ago, the majority land host holder told the
community that he had the idea to build a windfarm over 10 years ago.
The majority host landholder approached Wind Energy Partners (WEP) about
building a wind farm and a wind mast installed.
To date no site-specific wind data has been presented nor does the Western end of
the proposal have site specific data.
Throughout the following 10 years locals had noticed land clearing along the ridgeline and complained to the
Department of Land & Environment about unauthorised land clearing.
This land clearing has been investigated on several occasions over the years.
The majority land host holder has been investigated for unauthorised land clearing
on the ridge line within his property, unauthorised land clearing on NSW State Forest
and Ben Halls Nature Reserve.
Incorrect boundaries still exist along Ben Halls Nature Reserve.
The majority host landholder has been fined and has had land put aside as part of an
Environmental Agreement with the Department of Land & Environment.
In correspondence attained through the Freedom of Information Act it was
established that Wind Energy Partners had signed off on the Environmental
Agreement and also asked that the boundary to the Environmental Agreement be
moved to accommodate the width of roads for the windfarm.
This land agreement is not like for like for the old growth trees and endangered species removed.
When ENGIE purchased the windfarm from WEP and during community consultation
denied knowledge of any an authorised land clearing but only when ENGIE &
Someva became aware that the members of the community had seen the
Environmental Agreement through GIPA, they admitted to unauthorised land clearing
within the development area.
During the EIS assessment period the Local Land Services Tamworth, who the step
daughter of the majority host landholder holds a senior position, approved authorised
clearing by the majority host landholder on Wombrumurra Mountain, this approval by
the Local Land Services was based on the use for agricultural purposes.
The majority of the development area sits within Class 7 and 8 highly sensitive soil
areas.
This soil classification is off the highest grade and is classed for environmental use,
National Parks and preservation, not recommended for Agricultural use at all.
In the Soil Appendix by ENGIE in January 2022 it was stated that Class 7 & 8 soils
only related to farming and agricultural purposes and not industrial development, yet
here we are with the developer claiming the existing use of the proposed
development area as a cattle farm and an agricultural landscape.
The area of authorised clearing by Local Land Services also happens to be the
location of a wind turbine and clearing that is beneficial to both the transmission lines
and project infrastructure.
This authorised land clearing has occurred during a State Significant Development
(SSD) assessment and application period.
The majority land host holder during this time also had approval to build a new
dwelling on his property and claimed the existing dwelling was uninhabitable as it
was too close to the windfarm, a windfarm that has yet to be assessed or
recommended for approved by the DPIE.
During the SSD assessment period between exhibition of the EIS and the
Amendment DA, two roads located along Crawney Road received a major upgrade
including the removal of trees and installation of concrete pipes across Crown Lands
and into the development corridor with the reasoning been for agricultural purposes.
When the developer ENGIE was questioned about these two roads during a
Community Consultation Committee meeting they stated these roads had nothing to
do with the project or their development.
The developers ENGIE throughout the last 12 months were totally aware of
Tamworth Regional Council’s objection to this development proposal on the ridge
line and objection to the Devils Elbow transport route option.
In the development Amendment DA Submission, it was then notified that both of
these roads built during a SSD assessment period were to become Option A and
Option C alternative road access points for the development of the wind farm,
delivery of wind turbines, Oversize and Over Mass Vehicles and access for the
transmission lines installation.
The developers have continued to mislead the community with regards to free
energy only to be told the power will be 10% off that particular company
The developers have continued to mislead the community with regards to the tarring
of both Morrison Gap Road and Crawney Road before the development and then to
be told the tarring off the roads will only occur once construction is complete.
The developers throughout the last 12 months have noted to the CCC & DPIE that
consultation has occurred with traditional landholders which has since been revealed
no such consultation or approvals are in place at the time of lodgement of the
Amendment DA for the use of crown lands soon to be handed over to the Kamilaroi
people.
NSW DPIE website states that developers who commence construction or land
clearing or road access to development proposals whilst in the SSD assessment
period will be dealt with severely.
NSW DPIE website that developers of windfarms who deliberately mislead a
community during consultation will be dealt with severely.
All of the information stated in this objection is freely available through Government
Departments, CCC meeting minutes and through the Freedom of Information Act.
It is clear that both the majority land host holder and the developer over the duration
of the last 10 years have worked together to create a landscape they deemed
suitable for a wind farm development, in an environment clearly not designed for
agricultural or industrial use but more for the enjoyment of the local community, the
New South Wales community and a biodiversity corridor linking Ben Halls Nature
Reserve and Crawney National Park.

Following the protracted DA process for the Hills of Gold Wind Farm all the main issues of concern remain in the Amended DA.
See the attached documents for details:
Objections to HoGWF
Visual Impact - HoGWF
Errors App G LVIA Page 30

I fully support this project. We need a viable alternative to coal fired power which is declining rapidly and projects such as this one are absolutely necessary to strengthen the national and state power grids. The ridgeline where the proposed towers are to be located has been proven to be an ideal and reliable wind location. So you can see turbines in the distance - so what! They are not located on the edge of town! Much more visible wind turbines when one travels along the Hume Highway or route into the A.C.T. Interestingly, one can actually see the stacks and the smoke pall above the Bayswater and Liddell Power Stations from the same elevated ridgeline too and yet you don't hear people complaining about that (unless they live in the Muswellbrook-Singleton area).
I have visited Nundle many times over the past 20 years, but in recent times have noted a significant decline in facilities and people around the town. I understand that the numbers of students attending the local school is now drastically low also, which is not a good sign and indicated that families may have left the area, no doubt seeking work elsewhere. This seems to be relevant to the closure of the Tamworth Council works depot and other businesses in the area.
In particular, with the proposed current amendments regarding changed access route through Nundle and along Crawney Rd, south of Nundle and directly onto private property, I consider this a much more viable and less costly alternative than the proposed access up via Hanging Rock.
The reality is, that no matter what alternatives are submitted, there are always people who subscribe to the NIMBY (Not in my backyard) principle and will oppose ANY submissions - no matter how well put together. I can understand some of the bio-diversity issues raised, but feel that they have been addressed satisfactorily by the Developer. But really, if I wanted to build a house with council approval, then there may be people around who would oppose it for any selfish silly reason.
Finally, I feel that the prospects of employment, both associated with the proposed wind farm, local businesses, well as other landholders in the area employing people, will inject new life into Nundle area.

As stated in my original submission and the new submission I have attached.