I object to the Rye Park Wind Farm Modification application and adopt the submissions of Andrew Field and his family dated June 2020

Attn Director - Energy Assessments

To Whom it May Concern,

Firstly I would like to draw attention to the completely inadequate time frame which has been set out for impacted communities and parties to respond to this project modification. 15 days to review such a huge submission is unethical and given the complex nature of the submission which could potentially contain incorrect or misleading information is not adequate. I will be adding to my submission once I’m further able to decipher and navigate the enormous proposed amendment. This project modification is proposing to destroy heritage, property, native flora which is hundreds of years old and threatened/endangered species. It is also disappointing to hear that notification has only been sent to parties which made submissions in the original project and not to all those who will be impacted by these changes.

Firstly I would like to point out that as the images showing the impact of this project appear to yet again not to be actual proportions. This is such a basic necessity that accurate drawings and schematics are provided to involved parties and should be independently reviewed by the planning authorities and resubmitted.
The negative impact this project will have on our family farm and the community is huge and it’s appalling that such an significant increase is proposed. To increase the heights as proposed will make the turbines almost as tall as the tallest building in the heart of the Sydney CBD but positioned in native ridge lines with elevations over 750m in some of Australia’s most historic grazing regions. To say this is completely inappropriate is an understatement and the flow on impacts of this project would be disastrous. As a part of the 4th generation of our property at Rye Park these proposed changes are deeply distressing. The community consultation through all phases has been disappointing and completely inadequate.

I will add to my submission in the coming weeks but the below points highlight the initial concerns.

• A 30% increase in turbines will have a multiplier effect which is not addressed adequately. For example at our location an increase to the turbine size of 30% could make 70% more turbines visible. This needs to be better explored and defined and given the grossly inadequate information presented it’s impossible to know how bad the impact will. The extra noise generated by larger turbines is also not adequately disclosed or independently reviewed.
• The 30% increase in size will also mean that even with slightly fewer turbines the coverage of the blades will be significantly larger which means a higher proportion of birds will be destroyed by the project. The brief and biased environmental studies are grossly inadequate, especially given the additional impact on superb parrots and wedge tail eagles.
• The impact of extra clearing required for each turbine given the larger size is not listed and doesn't specify how many trees will be destroyed. This could lead to many more +100-200yr old trees to be removed along with large scale erosion risks which is not addressed.
• The impact of amended traffic routes and the potential for hundreds of trees to be removed to facilitate the transport of turbines is also not clearly identified along with any additional wildlife impacts. The same applies for the widening of roads.
• I find it appalling that there is a lack of reference or independent studies provided to accurate measure the increased fire risk to the region. Australia has just experienced the worst fire season on record and in many cases the only feasible way to slow the fires was with low level aerial bush firefighting with large fixed wing tankers. By increasing the size of the turbines which are located in inaccessible steep landscapes aerial firefighting will potentially be severely impacted which under a scenario like we have just seen this year could lead catastrophic losses to wildlife and local properties. Surely this is a huge priority for the NSW government and planning authorities to get a clear understanding of what increased bush fire risks could be presented by this project modification.

Regards,
Tim

As per Andrew Field’s June 2020 submission, I wish to express my objection to the project, for all the reasons detailed in the named submission.

Please find attached Submission 1, which further endorses my views against the proposed Modification to the Rye Park Wind Farm.
I hereby reserve my rights to submit further submissions.
John Washbrooke
Owner of Dwelling R38

Submission Re: Rye Park Wind Farm Modification

My name is Aleasha Way and I am a landowner at 529 Grassy Creek Road, Rye Park.
I am writing to show my full support for the Tilt Renewables Project Modification.
The increase of height of the turbines to 200 metres has my support for the following reasons:
The potential to generate more renewable electricity from the use of more efficient turbine models and less infrastructure requirements (decrease in turbines for the modified project by 13%) means a more viable project, and increased benefits to energy consumers.
Environmental impact studies have shown that the height increase of the turbines and the rotor swept will not significantly increase the likelihood of blade strike to bird or bat species. Also, there will be no significant increase in impacts to the community such as visual, noise or shadow flicker. The modification of turbine height will also decrease the total amount of turbines needed, which will dramatically reduce the amount of vegetation to be cleared, thus also preserving more wildlife habitat. The involvement of Boorowa Community Landcare Group to help undertake revegetation projects, also means an exciting opportunity for the community to be involved in maintaining a sustainable landscape for future generations.
The Project will also result in a direct injection of approximately $2-$3 million per year to the local community through payments to landholders, permanent staff and benefit sharing plan contributions providing better diversification of income and a drought proof and post retirement income for farmers and shared benefits
The Project will make a significant contribution to the shortfall in generation that will arise with the forecast retirement of Liddell Power Station soon and other coal-fired generators over the coming years. The Project will provide full time employment for up to 250 staff during construction and up to 10 ongoing regional jobs during its operational life providing increased employment opportunities.
Tilt Renewables have kept me fully informed of any potential impacts of the proposed changes to the project, including increased noise and shadow flicker study results. I am fully satisfied that the impacts from the proposed changes will be minimal compared with that of the currently approved project.
Professionally I have worked for some years in the area of Conservation and Land Management. I have seen the devastating effects of open cut coal mines and the degradation to the land that they cause, not to mention the air pollution from boiler stacks and water contamination in our beautiful rivers.
I am so very pleased to support and encourage the state and federal focus on delivering renewables and transitioning away from reliance on coal and fossil fuels.
I appreciate your time in considering my submission.
Warm regards,
Aleasha Way

I wish to lodge an objection on behalf of the Australian Wind Turbine Awareness Group.

Our objection is based on the documented impacts to communities from industrial wind turbine developments already established.

We see government authorities continuing to approve industrial wind turbine developments regardless of the very real complaints from not only NSW and Australia, but from around the world.

The visual pollution, the noise nuisance and the damage to biodiversity are the major factors of these complaints. As wind turbines grow in size the problems are increasing.

There are an ever increasing number of legal cases initiated by neighbouring properties to industrial wind turbine facilities who have been impacted during construction and operation. Some of the impacted have settled out of court. Of course there will be cases that we are certain will proceed to the courts and enter the public domain.

There also seems to be so called "good neighbour agreements" to shut down neighbours complaining, and of late we have been informed of agreements with neighbouring properties to cover the devaluation of property.

The NSW Department of Planning and associated departments are fully aware of complaints of adverse impacts associated with industrial wind turbine facilities.

Can the Department of Planning please identify who would be liable for the consequences of adverse impacts arising from the construction and operation of Rye Park Wind Farm if this modification is approved, which would allow the project to proceed?

For the information of the department and EPA I have also attached a recent research paper , " Confirming Tonality at Residences Influenced by Wind Turbines by William K G. Palmer Published 18 May 2020

I opposed this project and the proposed changes presented in the current modification.
The roads the project propose to use are not equipped to deal with the increased traffic of both light and heavy vehicles and the changes agreed to by the inept Hilltops Council are not adequate. They may suit the wind farm, but they do not take into consideration that these roads are not there for the exclusive use of the wind farm and its employees. Those roads need to be used daily by local residents who, for the most part, are self employed business owners.
The risk to our birdlife is unacceptable. There are 12 threatened species studies in the Bird and Bat Assessment, one of which is Boorowa's very own Superb Parrot. Every single one of these species is shown in this study as having an increased risk of impact with larger turbines. On top of that, the 7 species of raptors, including the majestic wedge tail eagle, are all at higher risk. As are the 7 species of common resident species. And 9 out of the 10 migratory birds are at higher risk also.
The increased size to the turbines results in the increased amount of roadside woodlands that have to be cleared. These are the last remnants of these woodlands in some places and are vital to the only welfare of our native wildlife.
The increase to the 200m tip height of turbines, increases the visual impact for residents close by and also increases the number of residents impacts purely because they will be visible from further away.