Thunderbolt Wind Farm

I object to this project !!! From the very begining it has been handled inappropriatly by the company involved . We are direct neighbours and have been poorly consulted by Noen , rudley ignored in fact to the point of us chasing the company for answers . They have poor communication skills and refuse to hold community meetings only one on one with neighbours . Covid has made this a very difficult process for neighbours and friends to gather to discuss this , however this company has been able to hold us at a disadvantage as they could continue to consult . A multinational company with all the resources at hand against a handful of farmers with no resources or funds to go up against this company a french company at that .!!
I have lived on my farm for 15 years and on another my whole life never have I ever been in utter disbelief at the down right dishonesty of these people , pressuring people to sign neighbour agreements to shut us up or we would miss out on any funding .
I have been a farmer my entire life and my greatest concerns begin with the destruction of waterways , habitat , fauna and wildlife in the proposed area for this windfarm .
I have considered myself a caretaker of this land for the future for my children and grandchildren and along comes a company that has no consideration or value of this land that belongs to my family. , only that they can make some money here .I am not against renewables just inappropriate locations and this is certainly the wrong location.
the suggested property is quite hilly with rocky out crops and is very hard to access , in the last bushfire season they were assisted by aerial support to put fires out , had they got out of hand we could have easily lost our property and the village of Kentucky will certainly be at risk . Kentucky has a population of over 300 people and consists of small rural lifestyle blocks a very dangerous situation .
We have grave concerns for ourselves the devaluation of our property , visual amenity and the noise factor causes us great anxiety , which has caused us much anguish and heart ache over the last 3 years . It seems unfair that we haven`t been considered or taken into account with this pending decision . it is not good for mental health issues to feel backed into a corner by something that feels beyond our control except for a stupid bloody email .
please reconsider this application for this ill placed windfarm it is not the right place .

The location for this wind farm is not appropriate it is going to ruin the habitat of local wildlife including Koalas. What is going to happen when there is a fire because the wind turbines are going to stop any aerial support that is needed to help combat the fires. I am worried about the impact of the noise that it is going to generate, and also health concerns that it will cause. We have bad enough phone reception already and these wind turbines are going to make phone reception as well as TV reception worse. Most of the turbines are not even made of recyclable materials. We did not purchase our property for it to lose value and to lose the landscape and the beautiful views that we have to be replaced by horrible wind turbines. There has been next to no community consultation on this proposal. I am not against renewable energy but there has to be a better way in which it can be done

I am an adjoining landholder to the proposed wind farm from my property i will be able to view all the wind turbines , thus having to view these monstrositys ,as well as the noise they will create . My land value will be significantly decreased , no one will be interested in purchasing a property with the view of such an eye sore !!!!!!! . My property is heavily timbered and the likelyhood of a major bush fire is very probable ,with the increasing dry seasons ,and the use of aerial fire fighting appliances would not be available ,due to the proximity of the wind turbines

Having the windfarm in our community is going to bring employment for locals as well as money for small struggling business. I believe its the best thing that can happen to our small village and surrounding towns.

I have viewed the Public Display and maps of the Thunderbolt Wind Farm project as well as viewing newsletters etc in order to make a positive decision to support the construction of the Wind Farm. I have also made this decision of support for the progress of renewable energy in the area.

I fully support the Thunderbolt Windfarm. There has been a through consultation with the community and I believe it will be beneficial to the community.

What a wonderful project for our community. How exciting this is for us - I am looking forward to the job creation, interest and community activity that will happen. I wish that the project could have been created as originally proposed (twice this size) as it included more local farm owners and would have created much more local business and interest in the area. There is significant concern throughout Australia around the way electricity is currently being generated, including the huge number of coal-fired power stations, and I am very supportive of this renewable energy project as a much better solution for our power needs.

From all that I have learned about the company, I believe that they operate ethically and try their best to work with communities. I have no concerns about how the project will run or be de-commissioned because I have faith in Neoen doing 'the right thing'

I have spoken to many, many locals and most of them are very happy with the project and are also looking forward to all it will bring to our community.

Whilst I support the need for renewable energy projects in Australia, I object to this project for a number of reasons, including:
-The majority of proposed turbines are located on land owned by a Chinese corporation. Thus the bulk of the financial benefit for the hosting of turbines will go offshore. This is of significant concern.
-Neoen has demonstrated questionable ethical practices throughout the process to date, one example is that my dwelling is located <5km from a proposed turbine. I had to request on multiple occasions for a photomontage to be taken from our dwelling site and then I had to request an additional occasion to actually view the photomontage. The photomontage proposes that I will not see any of the turbines as they will be screened by vegetation. I cannot accept that trees will screen my view of turbines within 5km of my residence when they are some 270m tall!!
-During the recent bushfires, and there were several significant fires located in the vicinity, aerial firefighting was pivotal to control due to relative remoteness and the thick vegetation throughout this area. I am a member of the RFS so am speaking with some level of experience here. I question the ability for effective aerial firefighting with the presence of these turbines. Neoen to date has not been able to address this concern from the community, or seem unwilling to do so.
-The environmental impact statement in my opinion does not go far enough in addressing the risk that the project poses to the local koala population. I often sight koalas on my property located near the project and I hold strong concerns for the koala population should the project go ahead.
-It is evident from the EIS that opting for a lower turbine height has much less of a visual impact than the chosen height of 270m. Given this- why is Neoen pursuing the taller turbines?
-My understanding is that Neoen is unwilling to hand control of the community fund to the community should the project get the go ahead. The seem to want to maintain control. This is concerning and for this reason I question their motives.
Renewable project should be for the greater good of the community. This project does not meet this test in my opinion for multiple reasons including visual impact to adjacent landholders due to turbine height, financial benefits flowing offshore, risk to koala populations, hinderance to bushfire control and proposed management of the community fund.

As a Kentucky Community Member I request an extension to the deadline for EIS submissions. To allow community with our limited resources less than one month to respond to the EIS document is clearly unfair.

The site of the proposed wind farm is in the vicinity of Dangars Lagoon and Racecourse Lagoon south of Uralla. These lagoons form part of the Northern Tablelands montane lagoons which include the RAMSAR listed Llangothlin Lagoon north of Guyra. The lagoons provide aquatic habitat for a range of bird species including migratory wading birds. The submitted SEE Attachment F supporting the proposal does not adequately address the potential impacts of bird strike by the proposed wind turbines other than to recommend a management plan post approval of the subject application. In this regard he proposed wind farm is uncertain in respect to legislative ecological sustainable development provisions.

Approximately 110 bird species have been recorded at Racecourse Lagoon. Please refer to -https://www.uralla.com/Explore/Things-to-Do/Walking-Trails/Dangars-Lagoon-Racecourse-Lagoon.

The number of bird species is supported by bird sightings recorded for Dangars Lagoon, Racecourse Lagoon, Chilcott's Swamp and Bendemeer (MacDonald River). Please refer to - https://ebird.org/hotspot/L930136 https://ebird.org/hotspot/L2535113 https://ebird.org/hotspot/L2535094 https://ebird.org/hotspot/L2611523

The majority of the recorded bird species are protected species under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 and include a range of ducks, swan, grebes and wading birds which would be integral to the montane lagoons through seed dispersal. The montane lagoons include vegetation identified as an endangered ecological community. Please refer to -https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/animals-and-plants/threatened-species/nsw-threatened-species-scientific-committee/determinations/final-determinations/2004-2007/montane-peatlands-swamps-endangered-ecological-community-listing

The proposed development does not address whether wind turbines would adversely impact on the passage of birds to and from the montane lagoons and other wetlands in the vicinity of the subject site.

I do not approve this project

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