Thunderbolt Wind Farm

Please see attached submission

I have attended several of the open days regarding Thunderbolt Wind Project and am supportive if this project.
I believe the local community can benefit from the project progressing, both in the increased economic activity it will bring and the ongoing Community support fund provided by Neon.
I have followed this project quite closely since the beginning, and have found the processes to be transparent, thorough and well communicated with the community.
I look forward to seeing the turbines on the horizon.

Please find my objections attached.

Please find my objections attached.

Australia needs to move away from coal as the world is not seeing coal as a good source of power. To move toward carbon neutral we need more green power. Yes it is not perfect but it is better than having a coal powered electric station in our area . The price of power needs to come down to keep industries cost down.

Power price needs to be cheaper for household
Lower cost of power for industry
Employment
Extra people living in the area while construction
More power in the grid no black outs
It is out of most peoples view
The motorway noise is higher than the wind farm
Down side
Some trees will be cut down but neoen will plant trees
Some creek crossing will need to be built
Birds don’t fly at this level in normal times
Fire fighting from the air is not common
Only once we have used planes and that was to stop a fire at Uralla their is plenty of distance between Kentucky and this project
Koala bear move through this area and only live on the edge
Sting bark trees that are in this area are old tree
Most tree Vegetation is regrowth

I write this submission with a heavy heart as I know that this submission will have little or no effect !
My family farm is situated across the road approximately 1.5 klms from the family home , our neighbour with the potential windfarm is foreign owned as is the windfarm company Neoen foreign owned , neither live in the area it is just a source of income to both parties. This angers me as either have no idea what this area means to the surrounding farmers and our small community , I know this because no one bothered to ask including our government.
The anguish and division it has caused with neighbours and the general community is gut wrenching to watch . I know because my parents are beyond stressed and the mental health issues this has caused within my own family is unexplainable to you in an email.
The absolute turmoil this project has created over the last3 years is boarding on criminal. Imagine not knowing or understanding where you are in all of this , waiting on a government decision on what your future looks like , its the stroke of some ones pen in an office who doesn`t know or understand what this property means to my family it It sickens me.
I won`t go on about visual amenity, noise, infrasound , flashing red lights , blade flicker , the displaced wildlife koala`s , eagles , endangered bells turtles etc because others will have covered that but I will tell you its bloody hard watching you suck the life out of my parents waiting on a decision to give this a tick of approval or a Nah !!
There needs to be some better planning procedures in place not let the cowboys just run forth and sign who ever will, with no understanding of what green energy means
or what it doesn`t mean. You are just throwing communities to the wolves with no means or knowledge to defend themselves against multinational companies with millions of dollars at their fingertips while the locals have little or no funds to defend what they own. Completely disgusting behaviour .

My concerns and objections can be best summarized as follows:
1. There has been a lack of Communication from the Government on REZ rollout. It is only now that the Department of Planning are speaking with community members in the LGA. They have admitted that their guidelines for both wind and solar are outdated. It is unlikely the reworked guidelines will be ready by the end of the year. It is already too late as the developments EIS has been released and the development is on its way.
2. Lack of Developer Transparency and Accountability. The Community Consultative Committees have been completely ineffective. The Community Consultation almost non existent. The idea that the developers have adequately consulted the community is completely false.
3. There will be in excess of 570 wind turbines around the Walcha LGA and Adjoining LGA’s. The issue of the cumulative effect on the community has not been considered by the Department of Planning nor the developers.
4. The absence of Regional Land Use Planning. The Government announced the New England REZ Zone which is 8Gw and called for expressions of interest in late 2021. The response is in the order of 32Gw, over 4 times what is required. It appears there is no landscape scale landuse planning, no sound selection criteria for which developer is approved, arbitrary choice made by Macquarie Street far from the local area and foreign owned developers making decision about where large scale industrial wind developments are placed.
5. The has been Community Division cultivated by the developers pitting community members against one another. This is a real threat on the community and on the Mental Health of community members.
6. Threats to Tourism -Unsubstantiated economic opportunity for REZ Communities. Some of the Walcha and surrounding LGA's have pristine wilderness and heritage listed areas. Wind turbines pose a real threat to not only the environment but also the tourism opportunities that generate real income for the local economy.
7. The claim that the developments will bring jobs is misleading at best and false in truth. There will be very limited opportunity for employment for local people. The developers admit that they will bring in contractors for all of the civil, electrical and transport packages. They will also be located up to 90 minutes from the development with them travelling these distances each day. There is no benefit to our local community or economy.
8. Lack of meaningful commitment to decommissioning. It is a legislated requirement that the mining industry has a decommissioning and rehabilitation fund in place. This must be a requirement of the renewable developments to protect the landowners and the community.
9. The Community Contribution Fee must be provided by the developers in the LGA into a common fund managed by the individual councils. Not to be put into a fund managed by a group of financially interested local individuals. There is no certainty that the developers will pay the community contribution fee, nor is the quantum of funds from each development known. It would appear it is up to certain individual to negotiate the quantum and how it is to be administered.

See attached submission

Please find our objection in the attachment.

Please find my submission attached.

Considering all the recent natural disasters caused by climate change: drought, fires and floods, we must get away for burning fossil fuels. The Thunderbolt wind farm will contribute to reducing use of fossil fuels and I fully support it.

Please see the attached submission

Thunderbolt Wind Farm Submission May 18th 2021


ZNET Uralla is a not-for-profit community group committed to supporting Uralla Shire in being a resilient and sustainable community as we move towards Net Zero Emissions.

Naturally we are a pro-renewable energy group and supportive of the New England being a Renewable Energy Zone under the NSW Government REZ initiative.

We also realize this plan was put in place in response to the urgent need to address Climate Change and for Australia to play our part in reducing our emissions.

This urgency understandably, has led to some considerations lacking depth in the haste for implementation and while there are a number of issues with these projects that can be refined, there are 2 areas we are most concerned about with any renewable project.
1. Maintaining community cohesion and amenity
2. Interruption to wildlife corridors and damage to biodiversity

These 2 issues lie within the context of all systems; landscape, place, wildlife, biodiversity, human habitation and activities, existing within a respectful, cohesive and integrated relationship.

There is NO REASON why, with planning foresight, these 2 conditions cannot be accommodated in every renewable project. We need to respect and support the cohesion and amenity of small towns and villages as more people find it increasingly desirable to move to regional areas and make sure these towns stay desirable, sustainable and resilient.

There is enough space in this state for renewable projects to be sited in a way that maintains the integrity of both the environment and communities. We encourage the planning authorities to be most mindful of this and set these conditions as a basic requisite for compliance by these mostly international companies.

Uralla Shire already has a large project under way with the 720 MW UPC New England Solar Farm. This project responded to community concerns, modified and shrank its footprint to address those concerns. This project is also invisible from the town of Uralla and the New England Highway.

However, with the Neoen Thunderbolt Energy Hub proposal some of the wind turbines are visible to the village of Kentucky with some residents feeling impacted by them. In this century, riding roughshod over communities in pursuit of commercial outcomes can quickly negate the social licence of those companies with their reputation unfortunately preceding them in future projects with negative effect.

This is unnecessary with good community consultation and a willingness on behalf of the company concerned to be flexible with the scope of their footprint and to balance commercial concerns with community amenity.

Before any projects were approved in our region ZNET was concerned about the mapping and understanding of wildlife corridors in the shire. Unfortunately, due to a number of factors, both historical and current, this work was minimal in the region. Australia has the fourth highest level of animal extinctions in the world. What is left in the New England needs to be treasured.

The federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 noted there was a critically endangered ecological community of White Box-Yellow Box-Blakely's Red Gum Grassy Woodland in the shire. As well there are koalas and Bells Turtles.

Given some recent concerns about animal habitat with a road widening project in the shire, ZNET does not support the clearing of vegetation where threatened ecological communities may exist. Additionally, with any clearing of vegetation, a plan ought to be developed in consultation with ecologists and wildlife carers to ensure that pre-work be carried out to catch and relocate any native animals found to be using the area for food or shelter, and that trained personnel be on hand during the clearing operations should any animals need care or capture at that point.

The purpose of these comments by ZNET Uralla is to ensure that all levels of approval for REZ projects, and particularly those in Uralla Shire, balance the recognised urgent need for renewables with a determined consideration for impacted villages and towns and environmental preservation as we look to the next 100 years.

Sincerely,

Carol Shantal
President
ZNET Uralla Shire
supporting our shire towards zero net emissions

Please see attached objection to the project

Please see the attached submission with regard to the proposed Thunderbolt wind farm development.

I am 100% in favour of the Thunderbolt Wind Farm.

I have been a local within the area for a long time and I am 100% in favour of the Thunderbolt Wind Farm.

I have been a local within the area for a long time and I am 100% in favour of renewable energy happening here.

I believe that the windfarms are ecologically positive for our environment.

Any objections raised by Steve Johnson from the fire brigade, are of one member and it must be considered as one member's view only! Confirmation is necessary from the RFS to confirm that what has been said is true and this has not occurred.

As a farmer and conservationist, it saddens me greatly to be confronted with the cumulative impact from large scale wind and solar projects such as the Thunderbolt Energy Hub Development. And as such I wish to register my objection in the strongest possible terms for a variety of reasons, namely:

Groundwater - Surely the huge foundations needed to support each tower will cause irreversible damage to this vital reserve. Without a reliable source of groundwater, many of us would not have survived the last drought.

Noise and Infrasound - Meaningful consideration has not been given to the mental health of not only humans, but to farm animals and native fauna.

Food Security - Loss of valuable rural land put out of production and loss of farm production due noise and infrasound is too greater price to pay for the little energy that this and other wind farms will generate. Cities must pull their weight by proportionally hosting their own infrastructure for alternate power generation.

Visual Impact - The visual impact of these massive structures will dwarf and deface both the natural and rural landscapes, rendering it an industrial wasteland.

Weed Management - No long term management practices appear to be in place to control the weeds that will inevitably prosper under acres of solar panels.

Waste Management - How on earth will the tiny waste management facility in Walcha be able to handle the waste during the construction period and the waste once the carbine fiber blades have reached their used by date.

Stranded Assets - I am not convinced that when the wind and solar farm developers have long gone, that it will be they who will be footing the bill to decommission these structures, pay the land fill costs for the blades etc. and decontaminate the soil, so vital for future generations of farmers to produce food.