I object to this project application.
My family lives just north of Rye Park and in Boorowa. My husband, children and I are regular visitors to the farm, and to Boorowa, and we have always enjoyed the peacefulness of the area and the friendliness of the community. As I also grew up on the farm visits are always a pleasant escape from the city life I now live.
The proposed `wind farms' of Rugby, Rye Park and Bango have been a concern to my family for many years, but the Rye Park WF is of particular concern to me.
Living in the Goulburn area, and travelling through Crookwell or via the Hume Highway to visit my family, I have had regular encounters with the visual destruction of the landscape along the way. I can no longer visit my family without seeing wind turbines but can drive past and then they are gone. To think that my family will have to live with wind turbines for the rest of their lives, and not be able to just drive away, is a distressing thought. And to think of the destruction of those beautiful Rye Park hills that have been so caringly preserved over many generations is also distressing.
I have seen the building of the Gunning WF and the Gullen Range WF. The scouring of roads over the landscape, the blasting of the land to make massive holes and the building of towers and power lines that can be seen for many kilometres away.
I do not believe that the majority of the local residents of Rye Park and Boorowa would be in favour of this development. Any of the promotional material that I have seen for `wind farms' is of bare rolling hills or fields of pasture, and what I have seen of the Trustpower promotional material on their website is no different. Rye Park is not bare rolling hills or vast, expansive fields but is that what it will look like after construction?
I understand the Rye Park area is a haven for many rare or endangered birds, reptiles, plants and fish that have been quietly and lovingly guarded for a very long time. I have no doubt that much of this country would still be as our First Australians would have seen it. How can this proposal be considered in any way?
Katie Addison and Family

I Object to the Rye Park Road development as it will have significant negative visual impact on the property of my family, at Residence 50 at Blakney Creek.
I do not believe that the economic benefits outweight the environmental damage during constructions, nor the negative social impacts on the local community.
I do not believe that the wind farm technology is as effective as solar technology which could generate the same power over a smaller footprint.
I believe that conservation should be further encouraged for the greater good, rather than promoting the creation of more infrastructure, a great distance from the sites that demand the energy needs.
I do not believe that wind farms should be constructed anywhere.

As a resident in the Bannister area I live amongst the Gullen Range Wind Farm. I love seeing the turbines in action creating power from the wind and constantly think to myself what a great idea. As I also think about the alternatives I would much rather have turbines next to my place than a coal mine. I would like to support the Rye Park Windfarm on behalf of the silent majority that support wind power generation. There is a definite vocal opposition to windfarms in Australia and in our local area and their views are respected and warranted however there are a lot more people both locally and generally who support these projects or aren't too fussed about them. I wanted to make a submission to the powers that be on behalf of this silent majority. Regardless of the local financial benefits wind power brings to a community, I believe wind to be a much better power source than the traditional alternatives.

I object to this wind farm on the grounds that it will affect too many neighbouring non-hosting households.
As a family currently living within close proximity of a wind farm, and not having a say to its development and now having another new wind farm proposed for an adjoining property we understand the difficulty in making people understand the problems associated with wind farms.
Noise and visual aspects, as well as environmental concerns and the inability to sell an affected property are all points of concern and should be considered before any new wind farms are approved.
The developers may have reduced the number of wind turbines and changed some aspects of the application regarding the location of turbines and the access tracks etc. but will these changes be added to the next modification.

To whom it may concern

This letter is regarding the proposed Rye Park Wind farm.
My main concern for this wind farm is that it may affect mine and my families' health in the
future.
Another concern I have is, as I am only a P plater (provisional 1 licence holder) I am worried about the impact these turbines will have on traffic, as there will be a lot more vehicles and no doubt big trucks on our roads during their construction. This traffic will affect the road and we do not need that, as our road is already crap enough!
If these turbines do go ahead we will be able to see them from every angle of our house
and it will be taking away what is already a beautiful sight.
I certainly hope they don't go ahead!

I have been a resident in the Rye Park district all my life and I can honestly say that there has never been a proposal that has concerned me more, than the development of the Rye Park Wind Farm. I reside on the Rye Park-Dalton Rd, approximately 3kms from some of the turbines themselves. Living on the land and being wool producers is not only a form of income for us but also a lifestyle choice for my family and generations before me. I am concerned the proposed wind farms are going to have a major impact on the valuation of our land and therefore affect our retirement in the future.
Another point that concerns me is the health implications that may be associated with the turbines. There are so many `stories' as to the impact the turbines have on health and lifestyle, that I don't think there is enough evidence out there to ensure that there will be no impact at all. This concerns me greatly, not only for myself but also my family and friends. How can it be said there will be no problems, when there have been many reported problems.
There are so many people in neighbouring towns that wonder what we are complaining about and that we should be pleased there is a greener source of energy being generated. All well and good for them to say that when the only time they will see or hear them is when they come to visit...not having to see them whenever they look through their kitchen window (or lounge room window if the Bango Wind Farm goes ahead too). That is what we are facing - every corner of our farm being in view of turbines!
The Rye Park wind farm is located amongst an area that is actually quite highly populated, with many residents living within 2-3km of the turbines. Many of the proponents have `land' in the area, but don't actually `live' there, leaving the existing residents having to put up with them instead. Is that not something that that Department of Planning & Environment is concerned about? If not, it should be.
Surely Australia, being such a vast area, has many other options of non-populated land that could be used just as easily, without impacting on so many people's lives.
I do wonder how these wind farms are so financially viable, when the Government is having to invest so much money into them. Surely health and education should be where any surplus money is going to protect the most important assets we have - our children...the future!

To whom it should concern,
I am writing this submission opposing the Rye Park wind farm, number SSD6693.
As a 5th generation grazier living within the area of the proposed wind farm, it gravely concerns me how this industrial factory will impact on me and my family.
Our farm is situated 3km west of the Rye Park factory of 109 turbines (reduced from 126) and 3km east of the Bango factory (approx. 122 turbines). I do wonder whether this situation exists anywhere else in the world, where our Federal, State and Local Governments are willing to subject their voters and rate payers to this accumulative amount of visual and infrasound saturation.
While we are talking about Local Government, as you would no doubt be aware, the Local Councils of Boorowa, Harden and Young are now amalgamated. I would like to know how this proposal from Trustpower can even be considered now, knowing that Young Council had rejected any wind factories in their jurisdiction, as well as having no actual councilors representing rate payers at the moment.
It also concerns me why Trustpower feels it is necessary to offer neighbouring properties (within 2kms of the turbines) $2,500 - $5,000 compensation, as well as having a clause in the contract that requires them to keep quiet about any negative issues that may be a result of the turbines. WouldnÂ't this be termed as Â`hush moneyÂ' elsewhere? Is this money being offered because Trustpower themselves are concerned about the impact the turbines will have on our community, which it doesnÂ't want the general public to know about?
I do hope NSW Planning & Environment starts to consider the number of submissions that are opposed to these factories and think about the majority NOT the minority of the residents LIVING in the area that will be directly impacted by this proposal.

The Wind Turbine problem in NSW driven by political convenience is reminiscent of the fate of timber communities in Tasmania.
In 1986 I was working as a young forester as part of the Tasmanian Timber Industry. That was an election year and Bob Hawke was the Prime Minister. In truth, I had voted for Bob Hawke in the previous election believing he would look after the "working man". Well I was wrong!
In 1986 Bob Hawk sold all the timber workers in Tasmania down the river to win the mainland green vote. All my fellow workers and I were just collateral damage in an "end justifies the means" political campaign.
In 1986 I swore to myself that I would never vote Labour again; and I haven't after 30 years. In 2007 my support for the coalition was vindicated when John Howard flew to Tasmania and with the support of 2,000 timber workers and the CFMEU fought off Latham's attempt to shut down Tasmania's industry.
Now, in 2016 I'm having a Deja vu moment; this time it's not Labour selling rural people down the river, it's the Coalition; the Liberal Party.
By supporting wind industries the Coalition has opted to destroy our rural landscape, our rural health, our rural investment, our wildlife and our rural lifestyle for the sake of highly subsidised and inefficient wind turbines. Just to win the urban green vote.
It is not surprising why rural independents such as Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott who commit to rural constituents and local issues have been so successful.
Wind turbines are not the answer to climate change, there a short term political stunt

I would like to submit my support for the Rye Park Wind Farm Project. I see that it will have positive benefits for the environment, local farmers and for the local and broader communities.

Environment:
- Sustainable, clean energy production with a minimal carbon footprint.
- Minimal land degradation, as opposed to open cut coal mining.
- No loss of productive farming land.

Local Farmers:
- Money generated from lease payments can be put back into farm improvement and development resulting in better production.
- Reliable income stream from lease payments can help farmers during non-productive times such as drought.
- Limited impact on farm production during construction phase due to utilisation and/or improvement of current infrastructures.

Local and Broader Communities
- Job generation in Rye Park, Boorowa and Yass areas as local personnel and businesses are utilised during the construction phase. This will continue into the future as farmers put more money into farm improvement and development with their increased cash flow.
- Improved roads as the developers repair any damaged roads during construction, freeing local councils to put money into other projects.
- Increased opportunities for the Rye Park community to improve local facilities, including amenities, parks and school, benefiting the local area and its people.

As a landholder in Rye Park for over 10 years, I am looking forward to the opportunity to develop a more productive farm, employ more local businesses and expertise as this improved productivity occurs, and to contribute more fully to the improvement of the local community. We have been afforded this as a result of the Rye Park Wind Farm Project.

As a local resident and a proposed host to the Rye Park wind farm I am in support of this wind farm project. Not only do I support this project I support all projects that generate green or clean energy. Australia needs projects like this one to help reduce our CO2 emissions. This wind farm is expected to produce over 1GWH of energy every year. Wind is now the easiest, cheapest and quickest way to produce this amount of energy, with the lowest impact on the environment.
Rye Park is known for having strong and consistent wind. Most of the land that is to be used for the wind farm is low grade grazing land as a result there will be little or no impact to the local farmers in the district.
The wind farm will also inject a large amount of money into our local community, over $2million dollars through neighbour agreements and host lease agreements. This money will make its way into the rest of the community, building a stronger community. The wind farm will cost over half billion dollars and the construction period alone is expected to inject about $50 million into Yass and Boorowa. I suspect it will be one of the largest project ever seen in the area employing over 350 people during construction.
There is a large group of local residents that have signed neighbour agreements or agreed provide land to build the turbines on. This represents a large percentage of the population of the Rye Park district that are supporters of the project. I have also spoken to many businesses in the district and have found only a very small level of resistance to the project, as many believe that the project will inject much needed stimulus into the towns and give a boost to the local economy.
There will be an ongoing benefit to the whole district through the direct employment of 35 staff and the payment of approximately $300,000 a year into a Community Enhancement Fund. This fund will be used for the benefit of the local community helping to provide or improve existing facilities and services.
Almost all the members of our local CFA are in support of the project as the additional roads that will be built will allow quick and safe access to any fires in this large rugged area that is currently very difficult to access.
I understand that there is a requirement for some water during construct however, once this has been completed there is no ongoing need. This will leave all our creeks, streams and rivers untouched. Unlike coal generators which uses LARGE amounts of water as seen at Lithgow with their large cooling towers or so called cloud maker.
In summary I can only see benefits to Australia, NSW and or local district. As it will help reduce our CO2 emissions and boost our local district in many ways.