Winterbourne Wind Farm

don’t want the community division, rd congestion for traffic/ emergency services access, think they are a waste of time and bad for our beautiful landscape and prime grazing land for generations to come
There is no guideline put in place on how to get rid of them when the time comes. It’ll be up to the landholders who will have to spend thousands.

I support all chances we have to provide renewable energy so as to slow/prevent climate change.
We will only get one shot at solving this problem. If we get it wrong the outcome could be unthinkable.
The argument "not in my back yard " does not stand as we have to locate and use the best positions to provide the best outcomes.

I object to this project on the grounds that is is near sensitive environmental areas and the potential destruction to bird life is considerable, especially to eagles that inhabit the surrounding areas.

Please see attached document

Please see attached document

I am supporting the Winterbourne Wind Farm because I believe that climate change is real and is resulting in serious climatic problems. If humans do not react now and reverse the effects of climate change our descendants will be living in a very threatening
environment. I do not want my children, grandchildren and their descendants having their lives put at risk because of the effects of climate change.
I have studied the Winterbourne Wind Farm proposal and I really like what I see. This is a community based proposal that can not only help with climate change but also provide other benefits for the Walcha and Uralla communities. The financial benefits are substantial with over a billion and a half dollars spent on the project. Millions will be injected into the local communities.
The builder of the proposed wind farm,Vestas, is a Danish company of the highest calibre who has vast experience building wind farms. I will quote from their website " With a vision to become the global leader in sustainable energy solutions, everything we do revolves around the development and deployment of sustainable energy solutions. Every day, our 29,000 employees help to create a better world by designing, manufacturing, installing, development and servicing wind energy and hybrid projects all over the world.with +160GW of wind turbines installed in 88 countries, our sustainable energy solutions have already prevented 1.5 billion tonnes3 of CO2 being emitted into the atmosphere."
Vestas has been named the most sustainable company in the 18th annual ranking of the world's most sustainable companies, evaluated and published by Corporate Knights. Again I will quote from the Vestas website. " The ranking is based on a detailed assessment of 6,914 publicly listed companies, each with more than US $ 1 billion in revenue, where performance across range of sustainability metrics is evaluated. The index revealed circularity and ambitious carbon emissions reduction goals as highly prevalent amongst high performers. The ranking is a testament to both our existing achievements and our ongoing progress in ensuring sustainability in everything we do."
So who are Corporate Knights? They are one of the world's leading and most respected sustainable economy media and research corporations. Corporate Knights has a magazine written for business leaders, policy makers and investment decision makers and has an editorial focus on climate change, responsible investing and the ideas, actions and innovations that shape a sustainable economy.
Corporate Knights research division produces global sustainability rankings, research and financial product ratings based on corporate sustainability performance. Their flagship ranking is the Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World, released each year during the World Economic Forum.
So here we have the facts.
Vestas is a company that operates on science.This science based approach means that any supposition or claim has to be proven before it can be deemed to be true. Any emotive, alarmist and /or exaggerated suppositions or claims count for nothing as there is no proof that they are true.
An overwhelming majority of scientists world wide agree that climate change is already having an impact on human life on our planet and it is only going to get worse if the causes of climate are not addressed. Many of the scientists regard climate change as the most important challenge facing human life right now. It is extremely important that humans join together to remedy this problem.
This is the over riding most important reason why the Winterbourne Wind Farm should be built. Here is an opportunity for the people
who live locally to do something very important for New South Wales, Australia and the World and in the future look back and realise they contributed to the fight against climate change instead of looking back and feeling that they had a chance and did nothing.
The injection of over $1.5 Billion into the local communities is a once in a life time opportunity to secure the financial future of people who live in the Walcha and Uralla districts.
There is undeniable proof that Vestas, as voted the most sustainable company in the world, can build an environmentally sound wind farm in the Walcha and Uralla LGAs with minimal interruption to the amenity of the communities.

I want to support this project which will produce more clean energy for us

I object to Winterbourne Wind Farm for a range of reasons as outlined below.

Appendix D of the EIS summarises the developer's stakeholder engagement. At no point in that report does it list engagement with impacted neighbours of the project - key stakeholders. We are one of those at our farm at Kentucky.

Our home and farm will have a direct line of sight and direct audible connection with most of the turbines in the proposed wind farm, given our location as the highest household in the landscape in the Kentucky district with 270 degree views to the north, east, and south. Our home and farm will experience unacceptable impacts to our visual amenity - the million dollar views that heavily influenced our decision to purchase there in 2005. We may also be impacted by blade flicker - we don't know because no one came to speak with us. We were never offered a photomontage in order to see how our views might be impacted... another example of a lack of stakeholder engagement. Our quiet enjoyment of our property will be destroyed by noise impacts, and infrasound impacts on human and animal health. No amount of compensation or mitigation can account for this, and none has been discussed with us or offered by the developer.

The village and district of Kentucky is home to many small and closely settled rural residences, being a solider's settlement orcharding area. This area will be visually and audibly impacted by the development. Specifically, turbine noise (audible and inaudible) and vibration will impact these areas particularly during the 'easterly' wind and weather patterns that are very common in this region. No community consultation was conducted via community forums in the Kentucky area, which has a very nice community hall that could have been used.

The unacceptable impacts of the project on the broader environment and community include the cumulative impacts of this project in concert with other state significant renewable energy projects in the region and the New England REZ. The proponent has not adequately addressed the cumulative impacts in their EIS.

I have concerns about extreme changes proposed for roads and road dilapidation, reduced biodiversity from wind turbine barrier effects and vegetation clearing, impacts on birds and bats from blade strike, heritage and visual impacts, and social division. I have concerns about how the turbines will be decomissioned, by whom, and where they will go for disposal or recycling.

I have concerns about how fires will be fought aerially, should we again see another 'Black Summer' fire season. Wind farm developers simply say, 'the turbines can be turned off' during a bushfire, but navigating among structures as tall as this in a light aircraft even when they are turned off, especially with smoke in the air, would be madness. Aerial fire fighting would become impossible, putting communities in and around Walcha and Kentucky at greater risk.

It is not clear from the EIS how these impacts will be avoided, reduced or mitigated to the satisfaction of our communities.

In order to guide multiple state significant large scale renewable energy developments, the NSW State Government has failed to:
1. conduct any form of constraints mapping,
2. conduct sound, inclusive, co-designed (with local communities), preparatory regional-scale land use planning.

This failure will ultimately lead to the failure of the REZ instrument and the renewable energy transition, increasing concern, confusion, calamity, and ultimately an increased timeline to net zero emissions.

There are better ways for us to act now to reduce our emissions and transition to renewables. We need leadership to help communities transition quickly using community-led microgrids supported by rooftop and farm scale solar, flower turbines, Aeromine devices, and bladeless wind energy devices at every household and workplace - after all, these buildings have already deleted the biodiversity and soil capability underneath their footprint.

This approach would significantly reduce further biodiversity and soil productivity loss, increasing our ability to mitigate climate change and retain (and build) food security for our nation. It would also share the cost equitably across rural and metropolitan areas, share the responsibility, support local installation businesses, increase economic development in regional and rural Australia, support local businesses, keep profits IN Australia, and so much more.

Large wind turbines are already being superseded in Europe. Let's 'empower' Australia with good approaches to a renewable transition, instead of outdated methods that will be white elephants all over our landscape within a few years, creating more environmental woes.

Karen Zirkler, BSc(Env) Hon 1
Primary Producer, Community Led Landcare & Biodiversity Advocate

After enduring the last drought, the worst on record and one in 2013-2014 which was also bad it is clear that drought, bushfires and now floods are becoming more severe. We have to reduce carbon emmissions but we also have to maintain electricity supply especially as we move to electric cars. Renewable energy is our best option at the moment and we need to move fast otherwise there will be blackouts as the ageing coal fired generators are shut.
We would however like to see money set aside (10) ten years before anticipated decommissioning. We would like to see money set aside irrespective of anticipated scrap metal prices because as has just happened scrap prices have fallen sharpely so that there would be a big shortfall now compared to prices for scrap used in the EIS report for 2021. To set aside 10% of projected decomission cost per year at the end of the project is not a big cost and if the money is not needed it would be returned to the project owner. If invested conservatively (interest bearing deposit) there would be very little lost income. We don't want to see unfunded decommissioning as has occured in the mining industries.

I fully support the Winterbourne Wind Farm project.
We are well overdue for a change from the heavy reliance on fossil fuel energy and wind energy is an exciting, cleaner option. Wind energy is also the cheapest source of large-scale renewable energy currently, and a largely untapped resource in this area.
The financial and other benefits from the project will be felt and seen throughout the area, but particularly in: the council (notably given the current financial state of the council), the community and town (hopefully boosting the dwindling numbers) and the land holders (giving additional financial security whilst still being about to utilise most of their land with similar grazing practices, unlike other renewable energy forms e.g. solar farms).

I believe that now is the time in the history of the Earth that we as a people strive to harness natures renewable, and constant, resources for our own survival

I am totally committed to the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy and believe that all sectors of society must take action to implement this transition urgently. I understand that there may be concern in various sectors of the community about the impact of this transition on jobs and the environment. The Winterbourne Wind Farm project is an excellent model of how such a project can be conceived, planned and implemented with the co-operation and support of the local community in a way that will benefit the local community and the broader population for years to come. I would like to see this project receive government planning approval and support urgently so that tangible and positive progress is made to transition away from fossil fuels.

I object to the Winterbourne Wind Project for the following reasons...

- I am concerned about the shadow flicker and noise and do not believe that enough independent research has been done.

- Walcha is a prime agricultural production district, and the impost of such a large windfarm in the district will compromise Walcha's productivity and contribution to food production.

- I am concerned that the project has turbines located very close to the Apsley Falls and the GONDWANA RAINFORREST WORLD HERITAGE AREA.

- The damage and reduction of already threatened wildlife habitat from the construction of extra roads to service the turbine installation and operation.

- I have concerns that the wind technology being used is already being moved away from in many parts of the world.

- This project is causing much anxiety and division in the community.

- The majority of the profits from the project are going off shore, owned and operated by a foreign company.

- The size and scale of this project is out of proportion to the size of the town - this is one of the largest windfarms with some of the tallest towers to be built in Australia.

- The plan to start planning and funding for decommissioning of this enormous wind farm towards the end of life of the project is an unacceptable risk to the community and landowners. A decommissioning bond needs to be lodged prior to construction starting.

- How will Walcha support and house the influx of up to 400 workers during the construction phase. The developer has not provided any concrete information on the housing of such a large workforce. This will have an impact on housing and rental markets, with prices increasing during the construction phase, current low income residents being displaced, and then a crash at the end of the construction phase.

If this ill thought off project goes ahead it will be to the detriment of all of Walcha and surrounds.

Please see objection letter attached.

Would improve the security of NSW's electricity supply.
Would be of huge economic benefit to Walcha.
Contribute to NSW Government's net zero emissions target by 2050.
Bring significant employment to the region.
and help ensure Walcha's survival.

Fantastic to see the NSW government getting behind long overdue renewable energy projects. Finally we are starting to see the government respond to what the public have been saying for many years. We want a better a environment. We want renewable energy. We have a brief window in which to reverse the damage that has already been done, so we should be attacking this in any way we can. So good to see us finally having a serious attempt to reach the emissions reduction targets that have been set. With coal fired plants reaching end of life, it is projects like this that are urgently required to provide power for us into the future.

It is fantastic to see this project being set up in a regional area. What a massive boost to the local economy it will provide. The creation of jobs will be fantastic for the local towns.

It is also great to see that the project is directly giving back to the community - the ongoing injection of funds will ensure that the local communities thrive into the future. Kudos to all those involved in getting this project off the ground for ensuring that it is not just the landholders directly involved in the project that will benefit, but the entire community - what a great idea!

I am in full support of this project as I believe Australia and specifically this project are essential in tackling climate change. I am so worried for future generations with what is happening more and more frequently - terrible weather events caused by climate change. Australia needs ways to tackle climate change and by development of renewable energy sources, specifically wind energy, and specifically the Winterbourne project this is positive steps in the right direction.
I believe this project will make a huge positive difference to the Walcha community, with the annual financial contribution back to the community - this will be amazing for this regional town. Also the job creation and improvements in the local infrastructure.
I think this project is going to be amazing for the community and will make a positive impact on tackling climate change.

Would improve the security of NSW's electricity supply.
Would be of huge economic benefit to Walcha.
Contribute to NSW Government's net zero emissions target by 2050.
Bring significant employment to the region.
and help ensure Walcha's survival.

Would improve the security of NSW's electricity supply.
Would be of huge economic benefit to Walcha.
Contribute to NSW Government's net zero emissions target by 2050.
Bring significant employment to the region.
and help ensure Walcha's survival.

Our town is slowly declining the retail section is very limited, there is nothing in the town to keep the young ones here. There is no employment here. The children go away to school and don't come back we need some employment here badly. It is becoming a rural ghost town with first the drought then bush fires the roads are terrible everything is falling apart we need something to give people hope also we need a transition from fossil fuels to slow climate change, we need electricity and we are a very windy town so its seems the sensible choice for our area and hopefully give us employment so we have new people to the town the schools are slowly loosing students as parents move away for employment. We need to grow the town urgently. For the sake of our town I urge you to allow this to go ahead.