Winterbourne Wind Farm

Winterbourne Wind has never had the support of the broader community and only benefits a few directly involved who stand to gain financially.
The proposed community fund is almost an insult when looking at the projected total revenue generated by the project.
 
Our family moved to the beautiful quiet town of Walcha in 2010 for a change of pace and to live an off-grid lifestyle. 
Over the past twelve years we have made a conscious effort to run an environmentally sustainable agricultural business. 
The majority of our electrical power requirements are generated on-farm through our stand-alone solar system.
We try our best to minimise any waste generated going into landfill.
We are truly concerned about the environment and try our best to do our part.
 
We were shocked to find out in 2020 that our farm would be located at the centre of the proposed Winterbourne Wind project.  If this goes ahead our serene part of the world will be surrounded by dozens of 230m tall turbines (almost 4 times the height of the Sugarloaf phone tower), every single one equipped with aviation beacon lights.
The main substation drafted in Winterbourne Wind’s scoping report is to be located in close proximity to our north easterly boundary, just down the road from our front gate.  New high voltage transmission lines will be built to transmit the power generated by the turbines.
We have been kept in the dark about the scale and magnitude of the Winterbourne Wind project by Walcha Energy and our involved neighbours.  There still seems to be no accurate information available about exactly what will be going where (Turbines, Substations and Power lines). 
Why was all of this planned in secret?
Why, at “5 minutes to midnight”, do we still know so little?

A team of friendly photographers was sent out to our home by Walcha Energy in 2020. The photographs taken were used to generate a photomontage of visual impact from our house.
The photomontage was shown to us at the office of Walcha Energy in town and we received two hard copy print outs.  To our disappointment the montage didn’t yield an accurate representation of what our vista might look like in the future due to the use of a wide-angle lens, which distorted the depth of the view, and due to the low saturation of the turbines superimposed.
To date, our request to Walcha Energy for the digital files to carry out our own analysis, have been left unanswered.
 
If you have moved to Walcha ‘by choice”, this might not be your idea of serenity and “the Australian dream”.  How far does one have to move "out" to escape industrialisation and urbanisation?
Due to our opposition to the wind farm there is now noticeable strain in the relationships with our neighbours (as most of them are in favour of the project given the huge financial benefit that will be coming their way once they become turbine hosts).  The animosity seems unjust as all we are doing is trying to defend our way of life, our home and our investment.  It’s pretty easy to judge people’s objections as a NIMBY (Not In My BackYard) attitude when in fact, some of those who have signed host agreements don’t even live on the blocks where turbines are proposed to be located.
 
I realise that Australia needs to explore alternatives to coal fire power generation, however, proposing to build a wind farm of industrial proportions (one of the largest in the world) in such a small community is absolute insanity.  It will destroy the flair of the town, damage our fragile ecosystem, ruin our already terrible roads, and have a huge impact on tourism which is vital for Walcha's economy.  Do people really think that a wind factory of industrial proportions will bring tourists to town?

If Walcha wants to do its bit towards a sustainable energy future why don’t we look at the development of a local micro grid with a mix of solar and - if needed- smaller and less invasive vertical axis turbines and local battery storage.  That way, we can meet our own energy demands and generate feasible electricity for our local community. 

I have serious concerns s about the degradation of our rural land values. This land is highly productive grazing country. This project and future suggested projects will have a negative impact on land values. Other localities in NSW have found this to be fact as the proposed new purchaser is bound by the previous owners contract with the developers.
Aerial bushfire fighting will be vetoed as wind turbines will not be visible in the smoke. It will also seriously curtail aerial spraying and fertilizer application.
Bird chopping turbines are detrimental to bird life adjacent to the National Park. I am especially concerned about the Wedgetail Eagle and other raptors as the gorge country is their last redoubt for unrestricted nesting.
The impact of turbine noise, audible and non audible has not been properly addressed. The location of transmission lines across private property has not been discussed or disclosed. The demolition of towers and turbines has not been adequately discussed and there is no sinking fund should the developer go broke or walk away from the project when it becomes obsolete.
I am going to be within 4km from the nearest turbine and no proper assessment of noise or blade flicker has been given to me.
I am completely against the Walcha district becoming a power house for city interests and also locals with a vested interest at the expensed of the whole district.

To whom it may concern,

I’m writing to support the development and construction of the winterbourne wind farm project.
My wife and I purchased the business in 2018 after it was announced that the previous owners were selling and retiring. My wife who was my girlfriend at the time and I deliberated on weather or not it would be a good idea to continue to provide our town with quality fresh fruit and vegetables and we came to the conclusion that we had nothing to lose and to keep a shop open and service customers in a dwindling town. In the past five years we have managed to grow our business year on year and have enjoyed increasing the number of staff required to run the shop. At the moment we employ 2 fulltime staff and 5 casual staff who live in Walcha and the surrounding districts.
During the recent drought of 2018-2019, in addition to the shop front we were able to adapt our business to provide bulk stock feed products to local farmers.
During the 2019 bushfires we provided for and supported our rural fire service volunteers and other firefighting agencies.
During the last 3 years of the covid 19 pandemic we have ensured our customers have had access to essential necessities by collaborating with other businesses and suppliers, implementing click and collect or mail deliveries and even doing home deliveries.
The development of the Winterbourne wind farm will provide the Fruit Shop an opportunity to capture more business due to increased people staying in town at hotels, motels and domestic rentals.
With the increase of construction, the more opportunities there will be for the businesses of Walcha and the surrounding districts will be able to increase sales and generate income, providing much needed cashflow and making our communities more resilient into the future.

With the closing of coal fired power stations imminent in the Hunter Valley and not enough dispatchable power to fill the market requirements, along with renewables being one of the most cost effective means of generation, then it makes absolute sense to develop Winterbourne wind farm given the consistent quality of wind in a location that is fairly easily connected to the main transmission line between the Hunter Valley and Queensland all the while boosting jobs, services, cashflow and countless opportunities for years to come.

Regards

Ross – The Fruit Shop

The Environmental Impact Statement used to justify the project is lacking in comprehensive answers to the questions surrounding the actual environmental impact – i.e. the negative impact to the fauna, flora and the communities. I believe these questions are not answered adequately because the developers know that there will be negative impacts to the environment and do not wish the attention to fall on these topics.

I have mostly been in favour of renewable technologies and shared the general sentiment that “green”/renewable energy was the answer to both energy demands and protecting the environment. That is the assumption behind the concept of renewable energy and therefore the environment needs to be properly taken into consideration before proceeding with the introduction of wind turbines (and solar farms) to the New England region. At this stage, I do not believe the developers have adequately considered the negative impacts and have solely focused on the monetary benefits for both themselves and those allowing the turbines to be placed on their properties.

The promotion of the project has focused on issues of population decline and the economy in the region - and how the project will solve this problem. However, towns such as Walcha currently have an issue with a lack-of accommodation and a lack-of workers to fill existing jobs. A project of this nature may entice people away from existing positions to the project and put further pressure on businesses and the livability of the town. The region needs substantial long-term work, not temporary boosts in employment. A large shift in demand for both work and accommodation could cause towns such as Walcha to collapse. This will negatively impact other industries in the area.

The proposed 400 working positions at the project are not likely to be filled by existing residents and will therefore require an external workforce to move to the region. This will naturally drive-out existing residents to accommodate for the increased demand for worker dwellings. This demand will only exist for up to three years while the project is under construction. After this time, the workers will most likely seek positions at the next project, since these kinds of projects tend to entice workers with a higher pay rate than regular construction work. If the 400 workers have displaced the existing residents when they moved to the region, then those dwellings will be vacated at the conclusion of the project. It is not likely that previous residents would move away from town for three years, then come back after they’ve found a place to settle elsewhere. There is not much encouraging new residents to move into town (such as work), so these dwellings may remain vacant.

The information provided in regards to the environmental impacts do not address a number of concerns. These include the increase in bush fire risk from turbines losing control of their braking systems. It does not address the health impacts to bee populations, birds, farm animals and humans – in fact, they tend to simply dismiss these questions as being irrelevant or portray them as trivial issues. Finally, the decommissioning process of the turbines is also lacking the necessary specifics one would expect from such a large infrastructure project. Who is responsible or liable if the developer goes out of business?

It would be fair to say, that this project needs further investigation before it proceeds. Otherwise, it could cause irreversible damage to the landscape, wildlife and communities of the region - a region which is predominantly made up of farmland. Are the developers and the NSW government substantially confident that such a project wouldn’t be detrimental to the environment and a large portion of Australia’s primary producers in the New England region? On the surface, the project appears to be well-intended, but badly-executed. On further investigation, it appears to be driven purely by personal profit in mind and not deliver an adequate solution to Australia’s energy requirements.

I do not live in the Walcha however visit a number of times year and have considered purchasing property there.
I am very much in support of renewable energy that is, however do not believe this project is the right decision.My concerns in for point follow:

• bird life impact
• national Park impact
• decommissioning
• traffic
• accommodation availability during build
• road impacts and cost of repair
• dated technology
• ongoing maintenance and repairs
• lack of trust in vestas
• blade sheading
• noise pollution
• picturesque landscape ruined
• environment cost of project vs benefits

Happy to support this project.

The Winterbourne Wind EIS is ill researched, unprofessional and erroneous. I strongly object to the Winterbourne Wind project based on the inadequacies of the EIS. The reasons for my objection vary from biological damages which are irreversible, roads and traffic congestion issues for the community which will be ongoing for months if not years, noise issues that will affect many more people that proposed by the EIS, resources such as gravel and water; where will this be sourced?, fire hazards and the inability to used aviation to control bushfires, inadequate community fund and the complete lack of neighbour benefits and lastly, the negative effect of a transient workforce in our community. The four major issues regarding the Winterbourne Wind Project and the EIS for me are, biological damages, road and congestion, fire hazards and future generations.

Biological damages
The developers for the Winterbourne Wind have selected a very poor site for this project, within kilometres of the World Heritage Gondwana Rainforests, The Oxley Wild Rivers and the Apsley Gorge where there are many endangered and protected flora and fauna. Animals which have been overlooked throughout the EIS include the Wedgetail Eagle, Raptors, Glossy Black Cockatoo, White Throated Needle Tail, Koalas, Quolls and Gliders. These animals play an important role in the ecological food chain and help control insects and pests. Wedgetail Eagles and Raptors are at great risk of turbine strikes while they sore searching for prey, these birds are highly populated in the National Parks and surrounding farmland adjacent to the proposed turbine sites, more than 1 and a half times more populated in this area than any other wind project in the country. We know there will be many deaths of eagles and raptors. Did you know if an individual is caught slaughtering and eagle it could lead to a hefty fine and time in jail, should the developers be punished for every death like the rest of us? There will also be a huge loss of habitat for Koalas, Quolls, Gliders, 207Ha in fact. Where will these animals move to, will they have a chance to relocate, or will they be killed in the process of construction? I highly doubt they will have the chance to relocate before the construction of 113kms of new roads where trees of all shapes and sizes will have to removed, some of these trees will be of threatened species. The developers will want to re-evaluate the way they mitigate the issues regarding to the deaths of these endangered birds and consider how they will element the deaths altogether. There are 2 mitigating issues stated in the EIS, 1 is to clean up the dead birds under the turbines and 2 is to develop a bird and bad adaptive plan. These 2 plans will not reduce the risk of deaths for these animals, this needs to be severely adjusted.
Vestas have stated that they plan to bring in 0.5million tonnes of gravel and 150mega litres of water for the construction of 113km of new roads. Firstly, where will they find this quantity of these resources?, certainly not locally according to the Walcha Council, and secondly, importing these resources brings a huge threat to the surrounding national parks of pests, diseases and pathogens.
Amusingly, these turbines which produce green energy are not green. My biggest issue here is what the blades are made of and what is going to happen once decommissioned. Vestas have said that these blades are manufactured using bisphenol, known as the toxic product BPA. Normal wear and tear of these blades is called Leading Edge erosion, a study has shown that 62kgs of blade material per turbine is shedded each year. To equate this to the Winterbourne Project over a 20 years timeframe, 147 tonnes of toxic resins and microplastics will be washing into our National Parks. During decommissioning, these blades will either be cut up or crushed onsite which will lead to huge pollution of the local area, this is irreversible and detrimental to our National Parks as well as the surrounding farmland.
As well as these issues which are already well researched, what about toxic spills and accidents which are unknown at this stage, what might happen to surrounding farm land, farm livestock, native flora and fauna, the people surrounding this project and our National Parks. So many unanswered and unanswerable questions. How do we protect our National Parks if the State Government allows such an ill researched and inadequate project go ahead? These surrounding national parks are fragile, and we need to be doing everything we can to protect them, not the opposite. Perhaps this project is in the wrong location.

Roads and congestions
Has the NSW Government and the developers realised there are only 4 roads in and out of Walcha. We are already a very isolated small community and do not need this to be extenuated. 2 of these roads which are currently highly used by locals to travel to and from work, medical appointments, emergencies, transport for livestock, resources, retail and couriers. These 2 roads are the only ones suitable for large trucks to transport livestock, fertiliser and other resources. These will be roads used by the developers to transport turbine materials and resources. Vestas have indicted construction will continue for 2 years and then there will be ongoing maintenance, therefore creating a huge surplus of traffic. It currently takes 1 hour to travel between Walcha and Tamworth and Vestas are proposing that it will take 2 hours between, which I believe is extremely optimistic and should be suggested it might take more like 3hrs carting the 80metre blades, particularly with the condition of the roads now. There are many tight bends around corners and bridges between Bendemeer and Walcha (the proposed route) where the oversized trucks will need to take up both sides of the road. This will lead to major traffic congestion the entire way from Walcha to Bendemeer as there are already limited spots for overtaking. This road is a major thoroughfare for locals travelling between towns for groceries, medical appointments, other services, emergencies and many relying on couriers and transport to deliver livestock, fertiliser, other resources and goods. I am unsure how emergency services will cope with the delayed time to Tamworth, which is Walcha’s base hospital. We have already been told by a local livestock transport company that if the trip between Tamworth and Walcha takes any longer, we will be charged an extra levy for fuel usage, the drivers time and the extra time the truck is out of action for another job, this will impact my business significantly as we rely on this road and this transport company to transport livestock to and farm our farms. How will these roads look after a couple of months and then years of surplus traffic? Our council might try to keep up with the required demand on the road towards Bendemeer during construction while the road will be particularly busy but what about the rest of the roads in the district, will they be completely overlooked, will they become impassable for some vehicles, probably?

Fire hazard
During the summer of 2019 and 2020 the Walcha district had many bushfire approaching, of which were a serious threat to the majority of the area proposed for the Winterbourne Wind Project. During this time, fires were advancing from the east in the Gondwana National Park and Oxley Wild Rivers onto farmland which threatened livestock, native flora and fauna and infrastructure including sheds and homes. The NSWRFS were incredible in mitigating these fires, aerial firefighting was used to reduce the damage these fires could have caused, without aviation, the losses would have been astronomical. Unfortunately, CASA have advised that the very presence of wind turbines threatens the ability to fight fires from aerial services. If this project proceeds, that will be the case for 30-60 years. We are bound to have more bushfires within this timeframe and if this is the case then, it looks like the wind turbines and the host landowners will be the first to go down in the flames. Goodluck getting fire trucks into many parts of the edge of the National Parks to reduce damages. At this time these fire trucks might be needed elsewhere.

Future Generations
This wind project might seem like it could potentially boost our local economy for a short term but what will happen once construction is complete and after 20-30years when these turbines are inadequate and obsolete to fulfill the required job it did when first established? What about my children and my grandchildren? Our beautiful, natural Walcha will be an industrial eyesore. The developers are not going to pay to decommission the turbines and the host landholders won’t be able to afford to pull them down, so will they just stand there until they fall, or get struck by lightning? How many years will future generations be looking at this? Perhaps no one will be in the district because of the eyesore or toxins were released. So many questions and so many unanswered and unanswerable.
There are so many reasons to object to the Winterbourne Wind Project. I could write on a lot more but these are the most pressing issues for me, a local grazier who spends a life outdoors enjoying nature as it is currently and trying to make it a better place for my future generations. It is time to start looking at other green energy sources and other locations, Walcha is not the location for wind turbines.

How can you build a wind and solar farm directly on the edge of the MacDonald river running through our beautiful town of Bendemeer. This is the main drinking source for the town’s people. What happens to the run off, the pollution from the oil and if the solar or wind turbines break? It will go directly into the water way and down stream to the town’s drinking water. What about the wild life? The koalas, the platypus, eagles etc. the drought and fires have done irreversible damage to the land and water ways. We have only just seen the wild life in the river return. What about the health implications from the wind turbines? We live directly across from this and already have 2 children with health concerns. We don’t want the wind and solar farm in our region, we live in the country for that reason it’s away from large infrastructure! Don’t ruin our land and region just to benefit the people who are going to get the money from these turbines and solar panels, just to see the rest of us suffer!!!!

Would be great to see Walcha with a wind farm. Bring jobs to the community.
Also the project would support Australia with power.

This proposed wind farm is the wrong size and in the wrong place. Walcha is a beautiful natural wonderland which is also a highly productive food bowl for the country. The effect this proposed wind farm will have will ruin our native surrounds and effect the sustainable farming practices that surrounding producers use. It is going to impact the roads and transport systems of walcha as they are not equipped for such high volumes of traffic. It will effect our native flora and fauna in the surrounding national parks, some of which we may never get back.
There are many places in australia where this wind farm could be built that will not effect natural wonders, productive farm land, small regional communities and our quality of living.
The size of the wind farm is astronomical and the products required to build such massive towers are a major draw on resources which are in short supply anyway.
I strongly object to this wind farm being built in the proposed location.

Whilst Hastings Birdwatchers are in support of renewable energy in principle, we are concerned that this wind farm, should it go ahead as proposed, will contribute to the continuing decline of threatened bird and other animal species in Australia. We believe that the Winterbourne Wind farm proposal, as a clean green project, should be doing more to protect native habitat and native animals, including native birds. For climate change is not the only threat we are facing. We are facing an extinction crisis around the world and this is particularly true in Australia. As it is acknowledged, by the proponents of the projec,t that it will impact threatened species and Critically Threatened Ecological Communities, we request that the proposal take this threat seriously and rather than pay a substantial sum in compensation that a rerouting of the transmission lines and minimisation of other clearing be mandated. We request that such changes be made to protect these threatened species and Threatened Ecological Communities. Our submission covers this issue in more detail, please see the attachment.

Please refer to attached

I strongly object to the Winterbourne Wind Project.
I live within 5km of proposed turbine locations and have serious concerns about noise pollution, subsonic vibrations and blade flicker.
Councils roads around Walcha are not designed or have the carrying capacity to carry continuous extreme loads that the developer proposes without incurring major structural damage. The developer has not included or shown any indication of provide funding to the Council for restoration.
The Oxley highway from Bendemeer has no provision for the 288 trucks per day in the way of passing lanes; not to mention significant choke points at Wakcha Road,( Surveyors Creek) Woolbrook, (Chimney Swamp Creek) and the Roseneath cuttings.
This problem will effectively block the highway to Walcha for light vehicular traffic and completely eliminate heavy transport from our livestock and timber sectors. Ambulance transport of urgent cases to Tamworth will not be able to reach Tamworth Hospital quickly. This service is relied upon by all of us in the district. It is our only road available to a major health centre.
These problems have not been adequately addressed in the EIS.
I live on Bergen Rd and due to the congestion on the highway travelers will look for alternate access to the New England Highway. Our property has a double frontage to Bergen Rd which we use to walk livestock along and to cross. Traffic flows now are bad enough for us to go about operating our business. Extra traffic will make our operation excessively dangerous. This also applies to others who have a road frontage. This road is a tertiary road incapable of taking continuous heavy traffic.
I feel this project will lead to further renewable energy projects to the extent of complete industrialisation of our beautiful countryside just to provide electricity for city interests and locally line the pockets of those with a vested interest at the expense of the rest of the people in the Walcha Shire.

I object to the Winterbourne Wind Farm development. Please see attached document for my full submission.