Winterbourne Wind Farm

I object to this project:
Too big, too many , too close to town, wrong developer, destructive of habitats and environment, not necessary, costs far outweigh the benefits, and is an unfair burden on Walcha and New England region.

1. No social license from community. The people of Walcha and the surrounds have protested in great numbers against this proposal.
2. Developer has not engaged with community in a meaningful and respectful manner. They have used bully tactics, provided inadequate or misleading information to the community, neighbours and hosts and, simply have been unavailable to answer questions or attend meetings. This behavior suggests poor future behavior.
3. Is is too close to town, visually polluting the unique landscape of the district, an eyesore from any aspect especially from the township, impacting on the tourism appeal of the district.
4. Turbines are too many and too big, imposing an unfair and disproportionate burden on the the small Walcha community to provide power for NSW.
5. Any development of this size would require large quantities of material inputs. This appears to be unplanned but will result in increased demand on the already limited resources of the district eg already undersupply of labor, waste services, supplies and transport of water, sand & gravel, availability of suitable housing and rentals and other facilities such as medical. This will cause inflated prices for locals and visitors.
6. The build of such a project will have a huge impact on local transport networks including road infrastructure upgrades and maintenance causing gridlock and further burden on already stretched local resources and local government funding.
7. This project is of industrial scale and nature. Walcha is primarily a livestock grazing district and is situated on some of NSW’s most prime food and fiber productive land. This development jeopardizes that productivity, with concerns around impacts of turbines in animal health and changed behavior. It also changes the purpose of the land use and the community fabric from farming and tourism to industrial.
8. The EIS is, in places, we suspect, deliberately deceptive and selective in its information. Another example of disrespect.
9. Decommissioning responsibility is unclear. There is no requirement nor offer to provide funding nor support for hosts at end of life. There should be an appropriate sized bond held in trust from the developer. This will inevitably result in rusting litter - monuments to obsolete technology, as it will be too costly to dispose of appropriately.
10. Maintenance issues are unanswered such as: the inability to recycle components, having to be thrown into landfill, who’s landfill? & access issues for hosts, with many stories of inappropriate behaviors from maintenance crews (leaving gates open, disturbing livestock etc).
11. Some turbine & battery components are mined rare earth materials and or toxic, ie batteries and resins.
12. Increase concerns relating to restricted firefighting and aerial application ability.

Generally:
Power from wind farms are unreliable, intermittent, and costly.
Renewable energy “factories” require vastly greater area than non renewable sources and still distroy habitats, landscapes, communities & wildlife incl birds, etc.
These “renewables” require huge investment in ancillary infrastructure such as larger, toxic batteries and transmission lines. It is subsidized by taxpayers, is not free nor cheap.
To supply reliable, adequate energy, we will still need, in addition, back up energy sources including coal and gas, thus duplicating cost, impacts on environment and resources.

In conclusion:
This development is not wanted by the Walcha community for all the reasons listed above.
It is unnecessary as it will not provide sustainable, nor reliable nor cheap energy.
It is too onerous and destructive of animal habitats, lifestyles, community and landscape.
It is not environmentally responsible.
It is a huge cost to the community and to taxpayers (subsidized by Govt) with very little benefit to the people of Walcha and little benefit to the energy consumers of NSW.
It will achieve very little good but will cause untold irreversible harm.

The project will have destructive consequences on the health of our natural ecology, beyond industry standards. Although they will pay millions of dollars in penalty payments and credits to 'cover the cost' of this damage, the biodiversity of our environment is priceless and cannot be 'sold' or 're-created.' This project is simply not worthy of the 207 Ha of healthy habitats and biodiversity.

I object to the project due to the restrictions for aviation services for aerial seed, fertiliser and chemical application for weed control. this will impact agricultural production in the area.
I object to the project as restrictions for aviation services to fight bush fires common in the area.
I object to the project as extra traffic congestion will effect movement of livestock between farms and to market.
I object to the project because of the poor consultation by the developer. The developer has not held one town meeting. They have not attended any other town meeting organized by other concerned community members despite being invited.
I have concerns for any adverse heath impacts the wind turbines may cause.

I am writing to object in strongest terms to the Winterbourne Wind Project. My objection is based on many aspects of the project as detailed below:

Poor Site Selection
As a neighbour to the proposed project, I am extremely disappointed in the Developer’s approach and lack of empathy for neighbours and their concerns.
Proposed Wind Towers B029, B030, B032, B033, B034, B038 and B039 lie within 3km of the two residences I spend most of my time which are SR207 and SR 262. A noise monitoring device was installed in the garden of residence SR262 and we have never been provided with the data from the device. This is a complete cover-up of important information that we require to determine the effect the noise will have on our lives.
The location of these wind towers are within 1km of the property boundary fence. This concerns me greatly, with erosion almost inevitable from construction of roads and excavation for the base pad. This erosion and run off will create and contaminate gullies and creeks on ‘Ohio North’ as well as lead to topsoil washing into Ohio Creek which runs through the base of this ridge line. The effect of the construction of the wind turbines will have an adverse effect on groundwater which is an integral part of our beef cattle operation. No consideration has been given to the impact on groundwater. We have approximately 20 stock and domestic bores on our properties.
The Developer has failed with statutory obligations to consider feasible alternatives to the site. It is totally inconsistent with any strategic land use planning and against the interests maintaining high quality agricultural land.

High Health Impact
One of my greatest concerns with the location of this large number of wind turbines so close to where I live is the effect from noise and vibration, blade flicker and dust inhalation during construction. I have read articles on Infrasound and spoken with people who live near wind turbines that are no where near as large as these, and they experience health problems with Infrasound, as well as sleep disturbance. The cumulative effect of such a large number of wind turbines adjacent to where I live proves that the Developer has failed in their Duty of Care not only to neighbours, but the Walcha community by placing these turbines so close to the town.

Traffic impact to all three properties
Accessing all three properties will becoming extremely difficult during the three year construction phase of this project. Our main turn off is located on the Thunderbolts Way between Darjeeling Road and Walcha, which is right on the path of the project transport route. With 288 trucks per day during the 11 months of peak construction, it will be almost impossible to turn onto Thunderbolts Way from Ohio North Road, as well as turning across the flow of traffic to get back to the property.
A more serious turn off is that off Emu Creek Road onto Ohio Road to access our property ‘Wyohbie’ due to the fact that there are two hills on either side of the turn. It is a serious safety concern, as well as taking up valuable work time to travel between properties which occurs multiple times per day.
‘Ohio North’ is located on both sides of Thunderbolts Way, and stock movements are carried out regularly across this road. This will become impossible with the truck movements that are proposed for the project.

Neighbour Benefit fund
I believe neighbours to the project should be compensated, with no strings attached, for the effects of sound, flicker, flashing night lights, visual amenity, construction activity, loss of capital value and extreme disruption to our lives that the development has imposed upon us. There should be no need to sign a Neighbour Agreement with confidentiality clauses and ongoing commitments.
Diminished Aviation Services
The location of these wind towers will hamper our annual fertiliser and spraying programs which are all carried out by air with Wind Turbine Generators creating a no-fly zone near rural airstrips, and low cloud conditions. Walcha was the first town in Australia to spread superphosphate by air, as this is imperative to agriculture in this region.

This is a great step for our future. I fully support this.

I am completing this EIS submission as I strongly object to the Winterbourne Wind Project. I grew up in Walcha and all my family live in and around Walcha. I recently bought a small business in Walcha - a boutique clothing, homewares and giftware's shop. I spend 3/4's of every week living and working in Walcha, and work 2 days in Armidale as an Occupational Therapist. As a new business owner I object to the Winterbourne Wind Project for the following reasons;
1. Traffic Congestion/Road Destruction in and around Walcha - I object to the project as there will need to be 288 trucks per day on our roads during the 11 months of the proposed peak construction time. The EIS is not reflective of additional resource traffic for gravel and water and the project still does not know where they will be sourcing water and gravel from. This amount of traffic is going to cause no end of noise, dust, air pollution, interruption to commuters, increase the risk of vehicle accidents, and delays and stoppages for other road users.
2. Poor Site Selection - Vestas has failed to consider feasible alternatives to Walcha as the site for the project. It is my understanding that they are not meeting statutory obligations which is grave concern. Walcha is surrounded by some of the best agricultural land in the nation and this project flies in the face of any strategic land use planning and protecting/maintaining high quality agricultural land.
3. Visual Impact & Negative Tourism Impact - Walcha is a beautiful town and is the gateway for the Oxley Wild Rivers National park, Wilderness areas, and Heritage Gondwana Rain forests. Vestas is proposing 119 wind turbines at a height of 230m tall in this project alone – this height is beyond huge and will be ugly. These towers will all have a flashing or static red or white light on them which will dramatically alter anyone’s view of the night skyline. Why would people want to visit beautiful wilderness areas with gigantic turbines sited against them? The project is going to have significant impact on local businesses like mine that rely on tourism.
4. I am also concerned about the impact the project has on Bush Fire Control. The towers will create a no fly zone on the western edge of the Oxley Rivers Wild Rivers NP basically hampering any aerial fire fighting of fires in and coming out of the gorge. This is not acceptable given the fires we had in 2020 in those exact regions.
5. Poor Economic Analysis and Equity/Social Impact- Walcha supports a population of 2000 people and yet we are being expected to absorb the social and environmental impacts of a massive energy project, and the community will only see 5% per annum of an expected earnings of $420 million annually in energy sales. Also how to do spend the community fund in an equitable way that benefits everyone in the community? The Winterbourne Wind project is terribly social divisive and is currently tearing out community apart. Neighbours are no longer on speaking terms, families are being divided, farming land is being devalued by proximity to turbines, and farming families are leaving town because of the project. Our town and community is too small to absorb and withstand the fallout that this project is generating. I fear the wind project is already doing irreparable damage to the social community and it’s not fair.
6. Decommissioning Concerns – There has been no commitment by the developer to be responsible for the decommissioning of the turbines. We cannot have our countryside looking like a wind turbine grave yard. The environmental factors of a decaying turbine will be significant and the developer must take responsibility for turbine decommission. Once again, who is going to want to visit a town surrounded by decaying turbines?

I believe the Winterbourne Wind Project is too big, in the wrong place and the environmental impact outweighs the “clean” energy is spruiks.

I live as a neighbor to the project with in 4km of the nearest tower. I had to go to Winterbourne Wind to find out why they were taking photo montages from our near neighbor. No one approached us directly. We have received minimal information about the project. We did have a representative from winterbourne wind call us to see what our concerns were but no information. The last communication was nearly 12 months ago. February 2022. I find it incredible that something that is going to have a huge impact on my standard of living - (noise, light flicker, visual impact, traffic congestion in and around our farm) is in the planning process for these reasons I strongly object. I also object on the grounds that a wind farm project so close to our property will have an effect on the value of our farm.

Australia and the world are at a critical point in time to mitigate damage to the climate from using fossil fuels. As a country we are over reliant on unsustainable energy sources.
I am in full support and encourage further developments like this, to transition to a fairer and cleaner future.
Haters are gonna hate now, the future generations will judge you.

In the famous words of Helen Lovejoy “oh, won’t somebody please think of the children!”
I support this project, for current and future generations.

I am making a submission on behalf of my business based here in Walcha.
I feel my Grazing business which involves Sheep and Cattle farming, will be negatively impacted, most notably during the construction of this project. My opinion is based on the following 3 points.

1. Traffic Flow and Animal welfare.
Access to and from my property is on the exact proposed route of the traffic flow of the construction vehicles and major parts delivery network, especially from Tamworth. During transport to market the increased traffic, will cause indefinite and unpredictable delays getting my stock to abattoirs and markets, while they are on board the stock transport trucks. This becomes an animal welfare concern and may impact the quality of my animal on arrival to market, which in turn effects my payments for the article delivered. This may also result in deaths of animals which will mean I will receive no income at all for my article, that left my property in an acceptable condition.

2. Loss of Rural farming Land.
The loss of land during the construction and completed project phases, may impact on the gross regional income of the agricultural industry in this area. In turn this may impact the profits of the regional businesses eg Elders, Walcha Vet Supplies, Richrdsons Hardware, that supply the industry for all of its operational needs, upon which I rely, to run my business. This lack of business viability may reduce competition, or their presence in Walcha and therefore may negatively impact the supply or costs of essential needs to run my business cost effectively.

3.Availability of local staff.
I rely on the availability of casual and contract staff to run my business. If staff are employed in the construction of this industry, as promised to the numbers stated by the developer, then that may create a undersupply of workers for my business. This means I will have no help or have to pay exorbitant rates for workers to travel from afar. This will negatively impact the sustainability and/or the profitability of my business and add to my stress of earning an income.

I am a person of the future and I am in full support of this project, I understand that some members of the community are against this project but I honestly dont think they understand that if we want a planet to live on we actually need to do something about the problems that we've made. Wind farms are a great source of power not only are they a clean energy source but wind is nearly everywhere, and these wind towers dont take up heaps of space, would you rather have a wind farm in your backyard or a whole coal mine? I believe that this project must go ahead, and yes, some parts of it may seem sad, like getting your view taken up by a wind tower but their not ugly and your still going to have a beautiful view to look. At least you know that your doing your bit to protect the planet. I try to do as much as I can for the environment and its not that i'm a hippie or vegan or anything like that its that i'd like my children to be able to see the animals and landscapes i've seen, the future generations have no control over the past generations mistakes , and i believe if this renewable energy project went ahead we'd be making a impact for good and being part of the solution not the problem. It makes me sad to think about humans going backwards and not fixing what we've done, climate change is real.

I am someone who is pleased to see Australia is looking towards more renewable energy but placing it in an area like Walcha, an area of natural beauty is not the place to have wind turbines. I believe they will detract people from enjoying Walcha's gorgeous scenery and lead to detrimental outcomes for Walcha's native wildlife. Placing large and obvious pieces of machinery in such a naturally beautiful countryside is not something I agree with when there are many other areas where these kinds of things may be more suited to. Tattooing an area with a mass amount of wind turbines I believe will have major impacts on native wildlife in the area (many have tried so hard to preserve) and taint the natural beauty of the area.

Having family reside in the New England region, development of the Winterbourne Wind Project is a positive opportunity for the New England region.

Funds from the Community Benefit fund will be beneficial to residents of Walcha and Uralla now and into the future. Additionally, it will ensure future wind generation projects provide a community benefit fund too. As a resident of the Illawarra REZ, it is important future wind developments provide a community benefit fund to ensure a fair share of the rewards for the community from these developments.

This project will actively contribute to NSW’s decarbonisation strategy which is of critical importance if we are to lower greenhouse gas emissions and reduce the impacts of climate change. Additionally, increasing the use of renewable energy sources provides energy independence for NSW and Australia. The price of wind energy is not beholden to international market prices for natural gas or black coal.

Approval of this project will boost the confidence of developers and investors in future renewable energy projects, such as wind, solar, and battery storage, and encourage further investment in NSW's REZs. It is crucial for developers to have this confidence to ensure their projects, which if negotiated fairly with host communities, will be approved and embraced by the community.

I object to the Winterbourne Wind project for the following reasons-
The small rural town of Walcha does not need a wind turbine site of this size and the spin off impact will be huge and of great detriment to a community over potentially 62 years project life and possibly beyond. The developer has not provided the wider community with sufficient information of the lasting effect of a development of this size and how it will impact peoples lives for years to come and the enormous impact it will have on our environment.
I am a landholder in the district and as such am bound by many laws as what I can and can’t clear. It would seem the developer of the Winterbourne Wind project can now come in and clear land that is in close proximity to Oxley Wild Rivers National Park and the UNESCO Gondwana Rainforest without any regard to the impact on the flora and fauna that live and grow in this area area. This habitat can never be replaced and threatens koalas, endangered bird species ie Glossy Black Cockatoo, White Throated Needle Tails and Little Eagles. 113 Km of proposed road infrastructure to build and access the wind turbines is an environmental disaster. It would appear the developer has very much glossed over the destruction of native habitat.
Walcha is small rural town where agricultural land is of the highest quality and this drives the town economically and socially with many community events staged to support and grow our town. I feel that the introduction of such a project will divide and suffocate the town.
Tourism which is an important part of our town economy will slow with high traffic congestion, turbines sited at our top visitors destinations and wilderness. Tourist will not want to pass through Walcha due to traffic congestion, extensive delays and roads being heavily damaged by massive machinery and large trucks transporting in turbine components.
Where will the water come from to service the construction of these massive structures. The developers Environmental Impact study suggests harvestable rights, bores in the area and farm dams or from the Walcha Council. This will not happen as who is going to willing give up there domestic and stock water considering we are still recovering from the worst drought in recent history. We need our water supplies for ourselves and our town.
Then there is the issue of gravel for road construction and where that will be sourced. Existing sites in Walcha do not have enough to even begin to supply.
The developers Environmental Impact Study does not factor in water and gravel truck movements into their assessment numbers or where there coming from. As residents we have a right to know these facts.

A big issue will also be the inadequate plan supplied by the developer to decommission the project at the end of its life. The current developer will be long gone and new companies will take over and we have no decommissioning agreement with them.

Walcha is a real community full of real people who deserve to be heard and our opinions matter. We should not be pushed aside as a developer comes in and destroys our town, environment and infrastructure.

The Winterbourne Wind Project is wrong for our community on every level.

This submission is in support of the proposed Winterbourne Wind Farm.

We need more sustainable sources of renewable energy and this development will bring new opportunities to the community of Walcha as well as the wider New England area.

Climate change is happening and we need to stop burning fossil fuels and move to renewables REALLY URGENTLY!!
Windfarms are an important contributor to this.
This is an excellent, highly viable project and should be supported.

The war in Ukraine has demonstrated to the world that we must accelerate our move away from energy produced from fossil fuels. In Australia, we have seen the rapid increase in energy prices that has increased inflation and put major cost of living pressures particularly on the less well off. This would not have occurred if we had more rapidly developed our renewable energy resources in the past decade.
Australian energy companies are bringing forward the closure of coal based electricity generators. This accelerated shut down of coal fired generators must be matched by an accelerated production of renewable energy such as the the Winterbourne wind farm.

I fully support this project. Renewable energy (including wind farms) are the only way forward if we want to continue consuming energy.

I am writing to provide details of why I support this project.
It is crucial that in NSW we actively support and build projects that will increase the states production of clean, green energy. As Australia transitions to coal free and gas free electricity production it is necessary to replace these sources of power with green power. The Winterbourne Wind farm project must be allowed to proceed and be part of NSWs future production system of Green Electric Power.
The construction of the wind turbines will create jobs for the Walcha and Uralla communities. Most likely there will also be jobs required for the on going maintenance of the turbines. The Walcha/Uralla area has been identified as a quality location for the placement of wind turbines to efficiently produce green wind power.
It is not acceptable to think that existing coal fired power stations should be kept open longer, or that new coal fired power stations shoiuld be built. These coal fired power stations not only produce climate warming gases, they create other pollution in the immediate surroundings that is harmful to the health of all people who live or work nearby.
Australia must transition to electric vehicles, and all homes need to become fully electric. The increased demand for electricity to allow the Australian car fleet to be all EVs, and for all homes to be fully electric must be met by an increased number of wind farms, solar PV farms and pumped storage. Winterbourne Wind Farm must be part of this mix.
The economics of this wind farm do stack up. It is not acceptable that a location with such good economic and environmental qualities that will allow the production of green electricity, should be lost by it not being allowed to proceed.
The future of the existing living world demands that humanity finds alternatives to production processes that create green house gases. NSW and Australia has to do its bit. This windfarm will feed into the grid. The power it produces will allow industry and home elsewhere to be power with green energy. This energy may produce green hydrogen. Green hydrogen will need a massive increase in the production of green energy. Projects like Winterbourne cannot be rejected if our governments are in any way genuine about acting to reduce climate change and global warming.
Thank you for accepting and reading my submission.

Has not been enough prior information to the wind farm construction, no way we would have built our house if we knew and absolutely no way we will be staying if it goes ahead, would like to know who compensates for a depreciation on our house if they do go ahead