I believe this is the right development with the right developer in the right place. The developer has taken note of prior submissions and has adjusted the project to address the issues raised in a comprehensive and considered way. It has also sought to engage with the farmers and community to obtain feedback and to provide honest and open information on the project and its likely impacts. Not all of it is good in the eyes of everyone, but on balance it appears to me that the benefits of the project will far outweigh any negative impacts it may have and that the positive benefits for the broader community will be significant.

My family and I have been operating a grazing business in the Rye Park area for over 10 years and I can see that this project will have significant economic benefits for the farmers and community of Rye Park as well as for the surrounding area, particularly the major supply towns of Yass and Boorowa. The project will provide a significant direct and long term economic boost for the businesses in those towns and those benefits will flow through to the broader community.

Personally, the economic benefits of the project will allow us to invest more money into our farm and allow us to improve the sustainability of our farming systems and to improve our land. In doing so we will employ more local labour and spend more with local businesses. The project will not impede our ability to operate our grazing business in any way nor will it have any negative impact on our business.

While the project will generate electricity in a more sustainable, cleaner and less environmentally damaging way than some of the traditional forms of electricity generation, I also expect that the economic benefits of the project will have flow on environmental benefits at the farm level by providing funds for better whole farm planning and more environmentally conscious decision making. In our case this will include fencing off and regenerating environmentally sensitive areas such as gully's and putting in place better water infrastructure that minimises the impact on the environment.

The additional funding provided directly to the Rye Park community will enable the community to improve the town infrastructure in ways that simply would not happen if the project was not developed in the area. Those benefits will be a long term benefit for the current residents and all future residents of the town.

The work required on local roads, which will be funded by the developer as part of the project, will both improve the local roads and be a great benefit for the local councils in the area. These externally funded road improvements would, I expect, free up council funds that would otherwise have to go into maintaining those roads. So either more roads will get improved in the area or the councils will be able to divert the money saved into other areas for the benefit of the whole community.

I am happy to expand on my submission if requested.

I am writing to express my support for the construction of the Rye Park Wind Farm Project. I hail from a farming family in the Rye Park community. I completed my primary and secondary schooling in the local area and following this moved to Wollongong to complete an Engineering degree. Initially I studied a Bachelor of Mining Engineering, however with evidence of climate change and an increasing global awareness I could not see myself completing a degree so heaving focused on extracting non-renewable resources for electricity production. Following this I changed my major and graduated with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering and have a firm interest in renewable and sustainable design.

The Rye Park Wind Farm will provide an injection of revenue into the local communities with job opportunities for skilled professionals, subsidies for farmers, neighbouring property owners and additional community grants. I have witnessed first hand the extended hours of planning and research that Trustpower has conducted to ensure that the Wind Farm will be safe, economic and in the best interest of local residents.

As part of Generation Y my views align with a majority of my peers, renewable energies are the way of the future and there is no valid reason that this project should not go ahead.

The Rye Park Wind Farm Project is the right development in the right place to provide the right outcomes for the broader community and economy. Specifically:
* Sustainability - wind energy is a sustainable energy source that mitigates the risk of over reliance on fossil fuels and requires no water to run, which is particularly important in a dry continent such as Australia.
* Mixed Land Use - windfarms allow for mixed land use so that farming and agriculture can continue.
* Location & Space - as one of the least densely populated countries on earth, ranked 236 out of 244 countries, there is ample space in Australia for windfarm technology with minimal impact on the landscape (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_territories_by_population_density).
* Technology - encouraging the implementation of alternative technology provides an opportunity for local industry to grow and develop new skills.
* Economic Benefits - the Rye Park community will receive an economic benefit, both during the construction and maintenance phases, with an increase in the number of people living and working in the region.

I object to the Rye Park Wind Farm on the basis of:
- overwhelming visual impact to the property that I will ultimately inherit from my parents (Residence 50), not only from the house, but from every area on the property.
- destruction of vital wildlife habitat during construction and decommissioning.
- the increased potential wildlife kill from the increased blade length.
- birds and bats cannot be told where to fly, so I don't believe the flight corridor changes are realistic or the planned "building in stages" to allow wildlife to re-establish habitat
- destruction of farming land that is vital for the production of food and fibre in the long term.
- impact of constant noise in the usually quiet rural environment.
- fire hazard - inability to fight fires around turbines, from the air as well as the potential for turbine failure to cause fire.
- increased local traffic, during construction and decommissioning, will cause further deterioration of all roads, will create potential increase in road incidents and accidents, will increase wildlife road kill.
- if the Bango Wind Farm is also approved, the cumulative visual impact from both the Rye Park Wind farm to the south, east and north east, together with the Bango Wind Farm to the north west, will be overwhelming on our property.
- increased health impacts during construction from increased vehicle exhaust in the area as well as dust, may lead to an increase in personal health issues including asthma and hay-fever.
- concerned for the welfare of livestock due to the increased truck movements and subsequent noise, and the potential for lack of understanding and empathy by wind farm workers/drivers. This potentially impacts all properties along transport routes but especially along the quieter roads including, but not limited to Rye Park Rd and Cooks Hill Rd, as well as vehicle movements on private property within the Wind Farm boundary.

I object to this Wind Farm application for the following reasons:
1. overwhelming visual impact that is not in keeping with the rural landscape, especially at Residence 50.
2. Impact of constant noise, on both humans and livestock
3. the developer retains rights over the property during the lifetime of the wind farm.
4. inefficiency in power generated as wind turbines only work at 31% of capacity (international average).
5. This windfarm is owned by an overseas company and that is where the money is going.
6. The creation of the wind farm still relies on fossil fuels.
7. There will be erosion from land clearing for the installation of the turbines.

I like renewable energy and believe that the town could benefit from wind turbines. It is a great opportunity for farmers to productively use wind in areas of their farm. I believe turbines do not have any bad effects and it is a great way to provide an income for our family. In my opinion the noise will not affect our household and my health will remain in a high quality.

My submission is in support of the Rye Park Wind Farm Project. As a nation we need to move quickly to the point where a substantial portion of our energy is generated from renewable sources. The impacts of significant climate change is just too big a risk for our people, infrastructure, environment and economy.

The Rye Park Project is expected to generate 1,192 Gigawatt hours (GWh) electricity per annum. This is enough electricity to power 130,000 homes.

*The carbon footprint is estimated to be paid back in nine months.

*Rye Park's strong and consistent wind makes a wind farm an efficient use of agricultural land.

*Local farmers will receive over $2 million every year for the next 20 years, either in lease payments or through neighbour agreements. This will dramatically increase the financial resilience of the local farming economy.

*The construction of the wind farm and associated infrastructure will have negligible impact on continued grazing activities. The wind farm will mostly use existing farm tracks and virtually all electrical cabling within the wind farm will run underground.

*The Rye Park Wind Farm project is a $600 million project. It has the potential to add economic value of $163 million in NSW, $45 million in the ACT and $49 million to the Yass/Boorowa region over the construction period.

*The project will create 369 jobs in the region during the construction phase, significantly increasing the number of people living and working in the area.

*35 ongoing full time roles will be created in operations and maintenance, providing long term job opportunities for locals.

*There will be a direct injection of over $5 million per year to the local community through payments to landholders, permanent staff, local councils, and the community. $300,000 of this will be paid directly to community organisations through the legislated Community Enhancement Fund contribution.

*Local businesses will supply goods and services including accommodation, engineering, earthworks services, fencing and landscaping.

*Ridges and valleys are a feature of the landscape around Rye Park. This will assist in minimising the visual impact of the wind farm. Only parts of the wind farm will be visible to a viewer at any one time.

*The planning for this project has required additional flora and fauna surveys to be completed, adding to understanding of the natural value of the area.

*Unlike coal-burning power plants, wind farms use no water in their operation, leaving local rivers and creeks untouched.

This project stacks up on all levels and I urge you to approve it.

I would like to provide this submission for consideration in the approval process for this project. I state that I am not in the employ of the proponent, nor will I derive any income from the project, should it proceed. I live south of Rye Park villiage in a position that I will see approximately 30 of the proposed wind towers. For a period of time I was employed by the proponent of the proposed Rugby Wind Farm in their information centre, and during that time was visited by many people. I was able to hear a number of arguments against wind farms, as well as many supporting them. Overwhelmingly though, people were gathering information to assist in deciding their point of view, as most had heard or read the anti wind farm reasoning. I have never tried to tell people what to think, only to alleviate their concerns by providing information.
After considering opinions expressed, and reading large ammounts of information from around the world as well as Australia, and visiting established wind farms in the region up close, I conclude that nothing is perfect.
Asthetics are a personal thing, I actually find them majestic, though many don't.
I don't consider that there is any health threat to residents at the setback distances proposed.
Bird strikes happen, but not commonly. Statistically, of birds killed by human activity, less than 1 in 10,000 is caused by collisions with wind farm components. (The greatest cause is collisions with windows, followed by collisions with vehicles, then by domestic and feral cats.)
It is true that there will be distruption during the construction phase, but if we didn't build infrastructure because if disruption , well we'd never build anything. I consider the many benefits of employment, income to hosting families and the community and the flow on effect of this income, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and reduced reliance on fossil fuels to far outwiegh the negative impacts.
I would like to add a note to anyone reading this who has a different opinion, that I respect your opinion as I hope you will respect mine. People differ in their opinions about many subjects, politics for example, and this is a very healthy thing in a democracy.
Thank you for the opportunity to lodge this submission, and your consideration of it.
Regards, Matt Smith.

I am a partner in a farming business based at a property near Rye Park NSW.
My husband and I own a property which would host wind turbines proposed in the development application SSD 6693.
We believe the Rye Park wind farm project will have many advantages for the community of Rye Park and beyond and we are very much in favour of its construction.
As farmers we are constantly taking stock of our resources (Natural, physical, financial and human) which allow us to operate our business and achieve our goals.
Climate, topography, landshape and water are closely related and together are the most permanent property elements available in our resource base. These are the most difficult to alter or change.
Just as all farmers are constantly making production decisions based on their stock take results, this particular proposal allows us to harness wind as a renewable resource to produce a large amount of sustainable energy for the State's electricity grid. Introducing this proposal would have no affect on our current grazing enterprises, as wind farms co-exist well with primary production. It would allow us to diversify our enterprises in keeping with the natural resource base in the area.
Having a regular stream of income, not related to rainfall or livestock markets would drought proof our property and would allow us to continue to operate as primary producers in the current unpredictable climatic environment.
The economic benefits of the Rye Park wind farm proposal reach further into the communities of Boorowa, Upper Lachlan and Yass Valley shire. The project will create 369 jobs during the construction phase and support 35 on-going fulltime positions. Business owners in Boorowa and Yass overwhelmingly recognise that this will have flow on affects with money being spent in the local community.
In addition to this, Trust Power has made a long term commitment to the project through its commitment of almost $300,000 per year to the Community Benefit scheme. This will directly support growth of community groups within the rural townships.
I don't know of any other development which would allow the current primary production in the area to continue and bring this sort of money into the local community.
We are satisfied that the developer has made provisions in the application for maintenance of local amenities and enhancement of the natural resource base.
The project has identified the potential risks to superb parrot by blade strike and loss of habitat and these risks will be minimised by the deletion of 4 turbines and relocation of a fifth from the original application. It has been investigated that potential collision strike is non -significant as observed flying occurs within the tree canopy or below 20m. The re-design of the project to reduce habitat impact and the off-set strategy to replace vegetation unavoidably cleared will mean that the development will have no significant affect on the superb parrot's continued survival.
We welcome the development of an alternative energy system to our environment and believe that the Rye Park Wind Farm satisfies all the requirements of a project which will benefit local farmers and community members as well as the broader consumers of clean energy.

I grew up on a property south of Boorowa on the Tangmangaroo Road and have been farming for many years on a property at Frogmore. I have many close friends in the Rye Park area who are concerned about the impacts of the proposed Rye Park Wind Farm and this has prompted me to make a submission to this application.
Having lived in our local communities all my life I am for the first time seeing division and mistrust at a level not seen before. Epuron, followed by Trustpower came to the area at a time when farmers were doing it tough, promising they would `drought-proof' their farms. I am tired of hearing this as the only reason for farmers to host wind turbines, and there is nothing in the original Environment Impact Statement (EIS) or this Response to Submissions (RTS) document that shows how these farms will be `drought-proofed". The majority of the hosts do not even live on the land that the turbines, power lines, etc are to be built, and if the ones who do live there are good business people they would not need this extra income. All that has been achieved so far is to downgrade the value of all properties in the Boorowa/Rye Park/Yass area. No one will want to live where they can see wind turbines, and when they are to be built on the tops of the hills they will be able to be seen by everyone for 100kms.
I also doubt that businesses in Boorowa will benefit much from the proposal. There may be some short term increase in business for cafes, pubs and the motel but as soon as construction is finished things will go back to normal. If businesses have increased their capital outlay they may even go out of business once the workers go away, as has happened to some of the businesses in Crookwell. What also happened in Crookwell was that a major Goulburn company Divals got the earthmoving contract, not the smaller local businesses. Appendix K - Economic Impact Assessment tells me nothing to alleviate my suspicion that local people will not be given work.
I live in an area that is popular with people who have bought property here to escape the `rat-race', commonly known as `tree-changers' or `hobby farmers'. These people love coming to their farms, and I have gained extra income at times by giving them a hand. I see them employ local builders, plumbers, earthmovers and farmers to help set up their new homes or renovate old ones. They go to Boorowa to buy their building products, farm produce and groceries and gum boots, and the cafes, pubs and restaurants give them a taste of country hospitality. Surely this long term industry is more valuable to Boorowa than Wind Farms. We will not have both.
The Rye Park area is also a popular place for these people to land, and when I talk to these people they are concerned about their investment losing value, the visual and sound impacts of the turbines, and in particular the intrusion to their quality of life in the country. I too am concerned about all of this, and the fact that if the Rugby WF and the Bango WF (to be built on the land of my birth) also go ahead I will not be able to travel anywhere without seeing these structures. And who is to say that if the Rye Park WF is approved the developers will not continue north along the Great Dividing Range through my current home!
It would by criminal to approve this proposed application and wipe out the sensitive environment in the Rye Park and Boorowa area. If this happens Australia will lose what cannot be replaced, not only the eco-system, but the farmers as well. Can we afford to do that?
James Best.