Winterbourne Wind Farm

My Name is Kimberley Cameron, I provide a dietitian service to the Walcha Community via Walcha Medical Practice “Kimberley Peacey Dietitian”
I am writing to strongly object to the Winterbourne Wind Project. I have covered most of the points in my personal submission and on behalf of my families agricultural business, however one point I had not touched on was that 119 turbines all have blades which contain large amounts of Bisphenol A (BPA). Significantly that -these blades shed significant amounts of BPA into the atmosphere and environment around them (aka our homes). It has been confirmed through email correspondence from Doug Landfear (Vestas developer) on 24/11/2022 that BPA will indeed be in the Winterbourne Wind Project’s Turbine Blades. BPA is scientifically known to be an endocrine- disrupting chemical and as our society becomes more industrialised, as does our consumption or exposure to BPA. Research currently suggests that our diet is the biggest source of BPA exposure, mostly from BPA containing packaging that leeches BPA into our food. The endocrine society recommends an acceptable level of BPA to be 0.5 nano gram per kilogram of food. Research undertaken by esteemed members of our community have uncovered that about 62kg of BPA will shed off each turbine per year (that is 119 turbines x 62kg for at least 25 years?).
We know that BPA can be measured in a human through testing their urine, we know that levels of BPA decline by 66% after 3 days of avoiding packaged foods containing BPA. (Imagine how much levels would increase after the above exposure – many members of the community work outdoors due to the nature of any farm business). The WHO reported higher BPA levels in formula fed babies using BPA containing bottles compared to breastfed babies. Currently in Australia the exposure we have to BPA (if companies abide by the current limits) are thought to be safe. Yet many countries have restricted the use of the substance (Canada, Malaysia, China and the EU). The effects of BPA were discovered back in the 1930’s and is known to have an estrogen – like effect on the body where the BPA binds to estrogen receptors, even at low concentrations. BPA has a direct effect on various hormones and fertility parameters. It can affect epigenetics which is critical for our own health and those of our future children too. When it comes to fertility we know of a potential link between infertility and BPA exposure impacting implantation. Fertility measures like AHM (egg / ovarian reserve) are affected by BPA exposure. For couples undergoing IVF – higher BPA levels in men were related to fewer and poorer quality embryos. What are we doing for the young couples trying to have children in our region? this amount of BPA is terrifying; let alone the kilometres we must travel from here to get specialised fertility services. Men Working in BPA factories in China had 4.5 times increased risk of erectile dysfunction. Overall it is well documented that on a whole we should be reducing our exposure to BPA not increasing it. So as a community for those of us that try avidly to reduce our BPA exposure due to the known harmful effects like switching our containers to glass, ceramic or stainless steel, buying from bulk food bins rather than in plastic packaging, using reusable water bottles and coffee cups, searching for BPA free canned foods just to minimise our intake to less than 0.5nanograms per kilogram of food will all be futile when the meat we eat (cattle/sheep) walking around in the paddock are eating grass coated in BPA, the vegetables we grow in our gardens will be dusted with large volumes of BPA, our drinking water, water for washing our fruits & vegetables, dishes and clothes, showering water all seasoned with kilogram upon kilogram of BPA?
You only need to do a very quick PubMed search to find that (like presented above) “BPA exposure during early life stage may have a transgenerational effect predisposing the subsequent generations to the risk of developing BPA related disease. Experimental studies suggested that prenatal, perinatal and postnatal exposure to BPA can impair several steps of ovarian development, induce ovarian morphology rearrangement and impair ovarian function, particularly folliculogenesis, as well as can impair uterus morphology and function, in female adult animal and offspring. Studies carried out in animal models have been reported the occurrence of endometriosis-like lesions after BPA exposure.” Does it not sound absolutely dumbfounding that the developer – with government approval – could expose us to such damaging levels of BPA? I am seriously concerned as a health professional in this region, not only for myself and young families health, but the community at large.
Other research has shown that exposure to BPA is a concern because of the possible health effects on the brain and prostate gland of fetuses, infants and children. It can also affect children's behaviour. Additional research suggests a possible link between BPA and increased blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Again I implore you, consider the community and environment which this project is going to inhabit and dominate.
Not only affecting humans and animals, the list continues, BPA has been shown to elicit slight to moderate toxicity to plants. Based on current research the effects of plants are significant at the macroscopic (e.g. seed germination, root, stem, and leaf growth) and microscopic (photosynthesis, uptake of mineral nutrient, hormone secretion, antioxidant systems, and reproductive genetic behavior) levels. Has the developer not considered the fragile ecosystems its borders, as well as peoples crops and farms?
So its not only our health that depends on these wind turbines with their blades full of shedding BPA, but our stock too, my families agricultural business depending on the breeding of cattle. Not to mention the high -quality beef and lamb products we produce here at Walcha and our city counterparts so avidly enjoy in their homes and restaurants – will now be absolutely laced with BPA, no doubt an impending animal welfare issue for us all. It is quite clear, that you as the government – pushing such large -scale industrialised developments – are highly unaware of where your food comes from. Not to mention the damage to flora and fauna as the proposed wind farm is adjacent to our heritage listed national parks.
We also know, that in the banning of BPA, companies have replaced it with chemical compounds so closely related to BPA they may as well be cousins, and that they too have similar negative health effects. Please keep these windfarms containing BPA and their cousins out of our communities, our health and that of our future families depends on it
If this project goes ahead – to members of our beautiful community I hope where your house lays – may the wind direction always be in your favour?
Kind Regards,
Kimberley Cameron (dietitian)

Walcha has some of the most fertile, productive and beautiful land in NSW. This is not the right place to turn into an industrialized landscape, just to tick the box of 'clean and green' and for the government to race towards renewables. I feel that given that Walcha is in relatively close proximity to the huge transmission lines in the Hunter, someone in Sydney or Canberra with the strike of a pen has circled this district as an easy fix to the global push towards zero emissions.
There has been very little consideration or care shown for our pristine and unique environment and the proximity to World Heritage Gondwana Rain Forests does not seem to matter for the developers. What about endangered species? Koalas, wedge tailed eagles and greater gliders. What if they are all gone in 25 years when the project is decommissioned... unfortunately there will be no turning back the clock for these animals.
The cumulative impact of the project, where already I have witnessed firsthand the destruction of friendships, neighbors not talking, the community is divided and for the first time in Walcha there is an uneasy feeling in the district.
The visual impact from the town of Walcha as well as across our beautiful pasture wonderland, noise from the wind turbines, road congestion during the building phase not to mention the damage caused by such huge volumes of heavy traffic and the destruction of endangered species. You have to ask is it all worth it?
I feel that if the Winterbourne wind project goes ahead then there will be irreversible damage to our environment and our community.

We have an urgent requirement to transition from fossil fuel consumption to slow climate change. The evidence of climate change is all around us: drought, bushfire, floods, storms, loss of wildlife, rising temperatures, ocean acidification, loss of coral reefs
Wind energy is far cheaper than new fossil fuel generation, with none of the air, water, and land pollution associated with burning coal.
This state of the art / best in class facility will be a great asset to NSW and produce huge employment benefits for the local population and their economy.
Please fast track the approvals so that construction can commence without any further delays.

I Object to the Winterbourne Wind Farm. My submission is in the attachment. Thanks

The Winterbourne Wind Farm is step in the right direction to address the urgent need to transition away from fossil fuel generation in order to slow climate change.

I am writing in support of the Windbourne windfarm project. I believe that this is a very worthwhile project . We need to be creating renewable, low cost energy to the National Electricity market as we move away from coal fired power stations and that is what this project is all about. Not only will it contribute to the NSW government's net zero emissions target, it will also provide many jobs during construction and also permanent jobs after the project has been completed. Altogether a very worthwhile project.

I'm deeply concerned about the impact that fossil fuel based energy generation is having on the climate and our world. I have done what I can to move my personal energy consumption to renewables. We need more than installing solar panels on homes though. We need renewable generation overnight and we need enough power to supply commercial and industrial users.
It seems clear to me from reading the press that this is only possible with a significant deployment of wind generation and we need to build it urgently. The Winterborne project is well progressed and presents an opportunity to increasing the supply of renewable energy in NSW in the not too distant future.
Not many would choose to have a wind farm built in their back yard but they need to be built and I think society as a whole must accept this.

It is important for Australia to develop sustainable energy production for a few reasons:
- Energy security. Globally energy security has weakened making this project especially important.
- Cost of energy. Wind energy is currently the cheapest source of energy in most locations. Low energy prices have proven to stimulate the economy.
- Image of Australia for global investors. Cost of capital in Australia is higher then elsewhere due to slow adoption of climate policies and actions.

The generation of electricity using traditional fossil fuels is no longer sustainable and has already caused significant damage to our natural environment as evidenced by changes to our climate (increased temperatures, fires and natural disasters) and loss of precious flora and fauna. But use of electricity is vital to our ongoing lifestyle and prosperity so it is essential that we develop new renewable and sustainable sources of electricity generation as will be provided by the WinterbourneWind Project to supply our ongoing need for electricity and to help Australia achieve its target for reduction of its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

In particular, I strongly support the WinterbourneWind Project for the following reasons:-
- The Project will generate clean energy via wind thus providing renewable and sustainable electricity for many years to come.
- The Project will contribute to the reduction Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions and assist in meeting its 2030 target;
- The development of the Project now will ensure that there is reliable and renewal energy available for use in NSW as ageing coal fired plants are decommissioned. Furthermore there will be no need to try and extend the life of existing coal fired power plants or to develop any new polluting coal fire plants;
- The project has already provided, and will continue to provide significant economic benefits to the local New England community by generating jobs and skills in this regional area. The project will also provide significant benefits to the communities of Walcha & Uralla via the community benefit scheme that is embedded in the project;

It is vitally important that we support projects such as the WinterbourneWind Project to ensure that we preserve this country (and our planet) for our children and grandchildren. Hence, I strongly urge the NSW government to approve the WinterbourneProject.

Please see attached

 I support this project for the following reasons:
- there is a pressing need to transition from fossil fuels to renewables to reduce the negative effects of climate change
- wind energy is cheaper than fossil fuel generation, with none of the land pollution that accompanies burning coal
- the project will help NSW to achieve 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 (relative to 2005 levels)
- the project will provider for the spendign of millions of dollars in regional NSW, create jobs and improve skills in the local and regional economy

Please see attachment

AEMO's ISP central case for net zero at 2050 requires an enormous amount of renewable generation to be installed. A project of this size will play a key role in achieving that goal, that everyday is becoming more important. This importance is evidenced by the undeniable change to our weather in Melbourne over the last 5-10 years, which is becoming worse every year.

This project must proceed.

As with almost all of these State Significant Projects, another fiasco! A classic case of "to be seen to be doing"! The negatives are either ignored or glossed over and the project "rubberstamped" - the ill advised, ill conceived headlong rush to alternatives shows no sign of state responsibility to the state residents.
EIS's are heavily skewed to the entity that pays for the EIS therefore are virtually not worth the paper that they are written on
The EIS does not account for the 750 litres of turbine oil that is changed every 3 months x 119 turbines = 89250 litres x 4 changes per year = 357,000 litres per year e.g. the oil disposal transport to where? - replacement oil transport from where? just to mention one.
The destruction of agricultural FOOD producing land that can be lost forever once contaminated with heavy metals
The recycling of the propeller blades that have a life of about 8 years - there is none, so cut into transportable lengths and into the local land fill at the local ratepayers expense
What is FREE about that?
The proponents do not mention this, and the rubber stamping authorities do not have enough engineering expertise to take the ongoing operation impacts into account
No real long term local economic negative impact is shown or calculated
No legal fixed "end of life" of the entity is ensured
Sleep well, you losers!

We strongly object to the Winterbourne Wind Farm:
We are a small family owned business.
We have many reasons for objecting to the Winterbourne Wind Farm. However, in the interests of brevity, we will outline our largest concerns below.
The Winterbourne Wind Farm project predicts it will generate up to 400 FTE jobs during construction. Walcha as a town does not have an employment pool large enough to service these additional jobs. This means the majority of these positions will be filled from out of town, requiring additional housing.
As a business, we have worked hard to build a quality team of reliable employees. If the Winterbourne Wind Farm goes ahead, some of our employees will face great housing pressure.
We are concerned that the project will put pressure on an already tight housing rental market. This will have a detrimental effect on enticing new employees to move to town. Walcha is a small rural town, and has a major shortage of qualified tradesman. The lack of housing, both rental and for purchase, makes it hard to attract and retain employees from out of town.

We are a small family owned business, competing on a national level against large international corporations. If the Winterbourne Wind Farm goes ahead, we will have to increase wages to be competitive for employees compared to Winterbourne Wind Farm. Like a lot of other business in Walcha, we simply cannot afford to pay grossly inflated wages, and so, will likely lose employees to the Winterbourne Wind Farm. Multiple businesses in town will likely go broke if they cannot find employees for a reasonable rate. When construction of the wind farm is complete, there will no longer be small businesses for the construction employees to return to.
The jobs offered by Winterbourne Wind Farm are only short term, but the devastating affect they will have on our business and many others like it in Walcha will be permanent.

As a manufacturing business, we are reliant on freight services from Tamworth and Armidale to supply parts and also deliver finished goods to customers. 90% of our freight comes in and out of Tamworth (90km away), and uses the same route as the proposed transport for the Winterbourne Wind Farm. If the Winterbourne Wind Farm goes ahead, the significant traffic congestion will have a large impact on freight. The expected delays from all the traffic and OSOM movements will mean that parts no longer arrive in a timely fashion. It will also mean that the cost of freight will increase, whilst local freight businesses will be under extreme financial and time pressure.

As an Australian manufacturing business, it is extremely disheartening to see yet more manufacturing being sent overseas.
We do not feel that the Winterbourne Wind Farm is in the best interests of the Walcha community. It is owned by a foreign company, and will likely employ fly in fly out workers, which means the town of Walcha will not benefit, and Australia as a whole will not benefit.
Walcha is being exploited for the good of a foreign owned company, whose purpose is to sell wind turbines, and make money.

Vestas have been less than forthcoming with details, and have deliberately kept details vague. They have also grossly underestimated materials usage. For example, they state each WTG will require concrete footings of 20-30m diameter and 3-5m deep, and 600 – 900m3 of concrete.
Simple maths suggests that a 20m diameter circle, 3m deep will require 942m3 of concrete, while a 30m diameter circle, 5m deep, will require over 3,500m3 of concrete. This is substantially more concrete than has been planned for, which means substantially more water and gravel will be required. If we cannot trust the maths on some as simple as the volume of concrete, how can we trust them to build some of the largest turbines in the world?

Vestas state that they have held community consultations, and have been forthcoming with all information. However, all information provided prior to the EIS has been extremely vague. The EIS appears to have been written with the sole purpose of preventing the average person from understanding the what the project entails. Along with the appendices, there are over 1,950 pages that we were able to download. This does not count the appendices that simply would not download or any amendments that have been made since we downloaded in November. This is not an acceptable volume of information for the average person to have to absorb. The summary provided in the EIS does not accurately reflect the information that is included within the EIS. One can only assume that this has been done in the hope that the average person will be overwhelmed by the shear volume of pages, and only bother to read the summary.

The Winterbourne Wind Farm is just one of many turbine projects being considered for the Walcha LGA. As such, this project will set a precedent for future projects. The cumulative affect of all proposed wind farms must be taken into account when assessing the Winterbourne Wind Farm project.

We are not anti renewable energy, we just feel that this project is not appropriate for the area. Walcha is a small picturesque town, bordering a national park, and relies heavily on tourism. This is not the appropriate area for one of the largest industrial wind farms in the world.

Some alternative energy options would be to replace existing coal fired power stations with small modular reactors. This has the advantage of constant power, and fits the existing electrical infrastructure. Australia also needs to investigate longer term options to enable buildings to produce their own electricity. For example, rather than adding solar panels on top of steel or tile roofs, we could develop photovoltaic roofing materials, eliminating the need for steel roofing, and also covering 100% of the roof in PV instead of only a small percentage.

Another solution would be to use waste to generate electricity. Either through incinerators or bio digestors. This would have the added benefit of substantially reducing the amount of waste going to landfill.

I object to the proposed Winterbourne Wind Farm.

I am a Walcha Resident and I am 8 years old.

My main concerns are:

1.They might topple onto houses.

2.They will kill birds.

3.They will be too noisy at my grandparents.

4.They will make bushfires.

5.Animals will be scared of them.

6.They will be to too big and heavy for bridges and road.

7.They will look bad.

8.They will not get around Corners.

9.They are too wide.

I strongly object to the Winterbourne Wind Farm for the following reasons:
HEALTH
Many people have moved to Walcha for the “tree change”. A lot of these people suffer from various ailments and sicknesses, and have made the choice to move to Walcha for health reasons. I myself, suffer from allergies, which are exacerbated by stress and poor sleep. Some studies have shown that infra sound produced from wind farms can travel up to 90km. I am very concerned about the impact this infra sound will have on my sleep and stress levels, and therefore my allergies.
TRAFFIC
The traffic impact during construction will be significant. With 288 trucks per day using our local roads, there will be major delays. This number does not include OSOM vehicles or additional water and gravel trucks, so is expected to be substantially higher. This will have a significant impact on our daily lives and will be for a long period of time. If it was only for a few days or weeks, we would all put up with it. However, 3 years is a long time to put up with extreme traffic congestion in a town where it is unusual to have to give way to another car when turning onto a road.
FINANCIAL
One justification of the Winterbourne Wind Farm has been the financial benefit to the Walcha community. This $750k annual fund is to be shared 10% to Uralla and 90% to Walcha. Walcha has a current rate income of approximately $20 million, which will increase to just over $30 million with the Special Rate Variation that council has adopted. This means, the community benefit fund to Walcha will be 2% of the rates income. I hardly think this meagre income is worth the interruption and road damage caused by the project.
Another argument has been that Walcha is becoming a ghost town, and needs the financial investment to continue. As a local business owner, this idea offends me greatly. There are plenty of opportunities in Walcha for employment and investment. I believe the biggest hurdle towards Walcha going ahead is Council’s attitude towards local businesses.
I believe that the development of this wind farm will be detrimental to Walcha businesses and employment in the long term. Whilst the construction phase will bring employment, it is likely to drive wages up to a point where local businesses cannot compete. As a result, many local businesses will go broke either due to paying exorbitant wages, or not being able to employ people to do the work required. Once the construction period is over, there will no longer be any local businesses left to employ people
The 400 jobs to be created during the construction phase will likely be filled by outside employees, as Walcha does not have a large enough employment pool – local businesses are already struggling to find suitable staff. These extra people and their families coming to Walcha will put extreme pressure on a housing market that is already struggling to meet demand – especially in rentals. Local people will be forced to pay more rent to stay in their houses, or else will find themselves homeless.

ENVIRONMENTAL
Over 500Ha of productive farmland will be removed from the Walcha area. This is almost as much as the average property size in the Walcha area.
429 Ha of native vegetation will be cleared. How is this good for the environment? The average farmer is not allowed to clear a single tree, however, the developer sees nothing wrong with clearing vast amounts of native vegetation.
The Project covers over 22 thousand Hectares of land, and is predicted to produce on average 239MW. This equates to approximately 1W/m2. This is over 4 thousand times less efficient than the average natural gas fired power station. Why are we introducing visual pollution to such a vast area of land in the name of environmentalism?

The proposal states the following for project justification:
Compared to traditional energy sources such as coal and gas, wind farms:
■ Require no invasive mining, extraction or burning of fossil fuels;
■ Emit no greenhouse gas during operations;
■ Emit no fine particle pollution, sulphur dioxide, or oxides of nitrogen; and
■ Typically offset all emissions generated across the turbine lifecycle in the first year of plant operation (Vestas, 2021).

Whilst WTGs do not require coal to operate, they will still require a large amount of fossil fuels and mining. Some requirements for fossil fuels are:
Diesel for transport trucks, earthmoving machinery, personnel vehicles,
Fuel oil for transport ships.
Coal: used in production of electricity in China where the majority of the turbines are made. Also required for steel and carbon fibre production.
The carbon fibre used to produce the turbine blades is produced using coal fired power stations. All WTG require large amounts of hydraulic gear oil, which must be replaced on a regular basis. Regular maintenance will require access using diesel burning vehicles.
The sporadic nature of WTG means that large Lithium Ion batteries will be required. Lithium is a non-renewable metal and has a finite supply. It is an important metal used in almost all electronic devices. Do we really want to put increased pressure our Lithium sources?
The fiberglass and carbon fibre used for the turbine blades are non-renewable resources. As well as using large amounts of energy to produce (energy that typically comes from coal fired power stations), they also require large amounts of toxic chemicals.
There will also be substantial amounts of quarrying required for both road construction and concrete foundations. There is very little difference between quarrying and mining, except for the final product.
The EIS claims that WTG “ Typically offset all emissions generated across the turbine lifecycle in the first year of plant operation” and cite their own company as the source of this information. Surely if we are to believe this claim, they should be able to cite an independent review, which takes into account the entire carbon footprint of manufacturing, including transport etc. This claim from Vestas is nothing but marketing.
During the service life of these turbines, the blades will shed micro particles due to wind erosion. Given we have just banned all single use plastics, and microplastics in consumer products, why are we so keen to introduce more micro plastics into our environment? Is it because these plastics won’t directly end up at the ocean, so nobody cares?

POOR INFORMATION
Vestas have been less than forthcoming with details, and have deliberately kept details vague. They have also grossly underestimated materials usage. For example, they state each WTG will require concrete footings of 20-30m diameter and 3-5m deep, and 600 – 900m3 of concrete.
Simple maths suggests that a 20m diameter circle, 3m deep will require 942m3 of concrete, while a 30m diameter circle, 5m deep, will require over 3,500m3 of concrete. This is substantially more concrete than has been planned for, which means substantially more water and gravel will be required for every turbine.
The development area is stated as 581Ha, however, it also states that there is 113km of road. At 60m wide, the roads alone would take up 678Ha. This is without considering the footprint of batteries, substations, turbines etc.
If we cannot trust the maths on some as simple as the volume of concrete or area of land, how can we trust them to build some of the largest turbines in the world?

BUSHFIRE SAFETY
I am very concerned about the Walcha community’s ability to fight bush fires if the Winterbourne Wind Farm goes ahead. Walcha is a small, isolated community, and relies heavily on volunteers and aerial craft to fight bush fires. With the turbine blades being 230m high, no helicopters or fixed wing craft will be able to fly around the turbines during bushfires. These aircraft are essential to safe fire fighting and are employed extensively to water bomb out of control fires, and to provide guidance to ground crews. If aircraft are unable to be utilised during bushfires, I fear volunteer firefighters will end up losing lives in unsafe conditions.
There is also an increased risk of fires starting from WTGs, as poorly maintained WTGs have been known to spontaneously combust. Once a WTG catches fire, there is nothing that can be done to put the fire out. All that ground crews can do is watch and try to put out spot fires that are started from flying embers.

I am not anti-renewable energy, but I feel that this project is not appropriate for the area. Walcha is a small picturesque town, bordering a National Park, and relies heavily on tourism. This is not the appropriate area for one of the largest industrial wind farms in the world.
Some alternative energy options would be to replace existing coal fired power stations with small modular reactors. This has the advantage of constant power, and fits the existing electrical infrastructure. Australia also needs to investigate longer term options to enable buildings to produce their own electricity. For example, rather than adding solar panels on top of steel or tile roofs, we could develop photovoltaic roofing materials, eliminating the need for steel roofing, and also covering 100% of the roof in PV instead of only a small percentage.

Another solution would be to use waste to generate electricity. Either through incinerators or bio digestors. This would have the added benefit of substantially reducing the amount of waste going to landfill.

I strongly object to the Winterbourne Wind Farm for the following reasons:

• Magnitude of the project. It is a massive construction that requires all new infrastructure to be installed. All the materials required for the massive project need to be trucked into town on unsuitable roads, creating traffic congestion impacting on everyone – people unable to get to work in a timely fashion, interruptions to students catching the school bus, emergency vehicles unable to reach their destination in time, freight services being interrupted. This will take place for 3 years.
o Loss of Prime Agricultural Land. Quotes that the project will take place over 22, 285ha but does not quote the amount of land that will be unusable for farming once the project is in place:
 113km of additional roads
 Overhead electrical network between 50km to 324km, adding to the farming risks in the 2nd highest riskiest occupation
 Construction of substations – however their area as been neglected from the report
 The area that each 119 turbines will take up. EIS states that the footings will be between 20m – 30m in diameter, however the EIS does not quote the area of land required around each turbine that will be a ‘dead zone’.
o Implications for Walcha’s employment workforce. Expected to create 400 new jobs in a town already struggling to fulfill jobs. Businesses will be under pressure to increase wages to be competitive during the 3 years of construction. This will cause many businesses to go broke over the 3 years. Once the construction is complete the jobs will no longer be there and there will be no small business left to employ anyone.
o Walcha already has a limited rental housing market. Many people wish to move to our town, however there are no houses to rent. Increasing the workforce in town by 400 people, not including their families will greatly add to the strain of Walcha’s rental market.
o The concrete required and the materials required to create the concrete. The EIS suggests that Walcha will supply the water required. Walcha already has a massive water shortage. With a project of the scale that is being proposed, it is unrealistic for the water to be harvested in Walcha for the quantity that is required. The gravel required for the Winterbourne Wind Project is estimated to be 850,000 tonnes, if the estimations in the EIS are correct. This is an unrealistic volume of gravel to be relocated to Walcha.
• Location of the Winterbourne Wind Project. This project is in immediate proximity to the UNESCO Gondwana Rainforests and the Wilderness in the Oxley Wild Rivers National Park. There are many rare and threatened flora and fauna species that live/grow in this unique ecosystem.
o The EIS refers to the local koala population as vulnerable rather than the current up-listing of Endangered in February 2022. Koalas are Endangered and the EIS states that 207Ha of koala habitat will be lost due to the Winterbourne Wind Project.
o The ‘Little Eagle’, classified as vulnerable was considered ‘an incidental observation’ however it was sighted during both biodiversity reports, therefore it is not an incidental observation. The EIS states that the population of Little Eagle ‘raptor species has shown a 50% decline in numbers in NSW over three generations and is considered to have a low recruitment rate.’ As Little Eagle is a raptor species, they are particularly prone to bird strike with wind turbines, as are Wedgetail Eagles and therefore need their ecosystems to be protected.
• Telecommunications interruptions due to electromagnetic interference. The EIS states that wind farms have the ‘potential for interference to those services assessed, including ….. mobile phones, ….. satellite television and internet, and broadcast television’. Walcha already has very poor telecommunications, especially in the Winterbourne/Moona Area. Many residents have added a booster system to their roof to enhance mobile reception and they rely on satellite internet. This is their only source of communication as the telephone landline has been made redundant in the area and no longer connected. Mobile phones are relied on for all communication, including calling emergency services. Satellite internet is used for all business operations. Farming is the 2nd most dangerous occupation, and therefore it is essential that everyone has reliable mobile reception. The slightest degradation in mobile phone reception could mean the difference between being able to make a life saving 000 call, or not.
• Diminished aviation services. The EIS states ‘The Walcha Council and the Uralla Shire Council Bushfire Prone Land mapping identifies the Project Area as bushfire prone land.’ Due to the remote and rugged location, aerial bushfighting is an essential firefighting tool. This was seen in the 2019 bushfire season as houses, properties and livestock were saved with aerial waterbombing of the fires. Bushfires are a regular occurrence and the Winterbourne Wind Farm creates a no fly zone meaning that no water can be collected from paddocks and no aerial tools can be used to fight fires in the Winterbourne escarpment.
• I believe that Australia needs to find an innovative solution to generate a reliable and cheap electricity supply. I am against adding new infrastructure when existing infrastructure can be repurposed. For example using a Small Modular Reactor at the location of a coal fire station and using the infrastructure that is already in place. Another solution would be to integrate solar panels into our building materials so every new building roof in Australia is a giant electricity generator. This is utilising space that is already used as a building and not impacting on our Agricultural Land. Another possible solution would be to repurpose our landfill to generate electricity.

To Whom it May Concern,
My name is Sandy Cameron, my children are the fifth generation on our farm here at Walcha. I am writing in response to the EIS submission put forward from the developer Vestas to our community of Walcha. I am writing in objection to the project going ahead.
This project appears to have so many hairs on it, it actually laughable. I am unsure how the government can be so apathetic towards our community to even allow this developer to propose such a development. Isn’t it a human value – don’t do towards others, that you wouldn’t do unto yourself? Only 16 buildings in Syndey reach a height of 200meters. Such a large-scale industrialised project that will change the shape so negatively of the Walcha we have and admire here today. The EIS states that the turbines (119 x 230m turbines) reach within 6km of our town, 2.5km from the Apsley Falls lookout point (one of our biggest tourist attractions), 3.5km from Steep Drop Falls Trail and it is adjacent to the World Heritage listed Gondwana Rainforests Area / the Wild Rivers National Park. To have 119 turbines soaring at such heights is not even something people in New York have to fathom, only having approximately 34 building higher than the proposed turbine height, let alone forcing it upon our pristine community. Please keep your industrialised projects in already industrialised areas. The fire risk coming from the national parks to prime farm land will be astronomical as no firefighting aircraft will operate with these wind towers around.
The developer has not been appropriately forthcoming with our community. Everything has been so shrouded in secrecy to the point we as a community have formed a group to help uncover some of the outlines of the project. Trying to get information and answers out of the developer is like getting blood out of a stone. In fact, for the vast majority of the duration of the EIS submission period – the developers office phone has gone directly to an answering machine (how convenient). Hence our requirement to take time from our busy lives (producing food and fibre for the nation), to try and wade through the secretive, manipulative process that has been the Winterbourne Wind Project. The consultative process from the developer has been so incredibly poor and done to the absolute minimum. Both the indigenous and non-indigenous community members have been appalled by the lack of consultation.
The EIS itself is dumbfounding, excessively enormous, enough for any community member to be put off doing a submission, almost like it was the developer’s purpose in doing so. The number of errors in it is fascinating. It shows a developer who has no social integrity and no care or respect for our community, in fact thinking we are a “bunch of rednecks.” I assure you, the opposite is true.
It's astounding that the environmental studies were conducted during a period of drought, the largest drought in living memory in these parts. I implore the developer to return now, I’m sure the results would be tipped on their head to truly divulge the environmental destruction to our local flora and fauna.
The site selection for the project is very poor, as already argued it borders our world heritage areas, but also, we have some of the most productive agricultural land in Australia. Why then has it been so strongly earmarked for such developments? Vestas has failed with statutory obligations to consider feasible alternatives to the site. 7000MW is intense for a small rural area like Walcha.
The developer has not made it clear where many resources for the project are coming from, namely water. The EIS states it has a requirement of 150 megalitres, an additional 6megalitres for concrete. The developer has not highlighted if they will use our local resources or truck them in. Both as devastating to our community as the other. Traffic congestion and damage to our roads will have a negative impact on tourism, not to mention those in our community to commute to Tamworth or Armidale for employment – like my wife. An already massive commute at 3 hours round trip, could be doubled? This is extraordinarily unfair, increases danger due to road damage and tired driving. We have a young family to consider. I am unsure if the developer has even cared enough to consider these points or if they would provide compensation to people like my wife. Although, after Vestas has quashed neighbourhood benefits – I doubt they would care. This company has not stuck to its word. The community benefit fund is also obsolete in comparison to the revenue the project will bring in. It is as though our community is the sacrificial lamb, to a project which is going to supply unreliable power, from an unreliable developer, to the masses and teal voters, who think us out of sight, out of mind.
Where are the parts made for these wind towers? Where are the battery components made to store the power? Parts for service and maintenance, where are they made? I can’t help but feel this whole wind/ solar push is offering unreliable energy to Australians completely reliant on other countries for the continued support of these structures, countries we have been skating on thin ice with (Don’t need to be a rocket scientist to see that this is a rushed and ill-thought-out solution to phasing out fossil fuels). Remember energy has given us everything we know, seems a bit risky.
Dust suppression from the project has been massively understated in terms of water required. Considering there are court cases down south where farmers are taking wind farms to court. A statement filed to the supreme court, say a couple adjoining Macarthur Wind Farm near Hamilton in Western Victoria, 260 of their 400 ultra-fine- wool sheep died due to construction of a wind farm where dust emissions were “noxious and caused a material injury to the sheep. Does the government not consider where products like wool, lamb and beef come from? For us animal welfare is a real thing not just a word! For all the toting that this is a “green project, it appears to be the opposite. So when Vestas has not highlighted where the water, gravel etc, will come from for such an important process and required in such vast capacity, it leaves us scratching our heads.
Decommissioning? Well that’s a topic not even the developer wants to touch on. It seems as though the developer does not want to commit to any responsibility of decommissioning these eye sores. That leaves the land owner with an enormous cost, most of which would not pull them down but leave them to rust, further compromising our countryside. The rate in which these projects are flipped and traded to other companies is extremely concerning as who is to know what agreements will stand at the end of it all. I’m sure these developers would have lawyers who could get them out of any situation.
These are only a drop in the water of the points I would like to make considering the absurdity of this project. I welcome you as government representatives, or receivers of these submissions to come and meet with us, and see for yourselves the sheer stupidity of projects like these inhabiting our town for who knows beyond 62 years.
Wind and solar are failed ventures in other countries so why are we being so stupid in pursuing them? With the development of nuclear power in compact units becoming prominent in many advanced countries, this seems like the smartest cheapest and zero emission alternative.

Kind Regards,
Sandy Cameron

This project is a sustainable, necessary initiative for the country to support as a whole.