On 22 January Epuron provided the following update:
Revision of wind turbine layout
After a full year of on-site surveys and community engagement Epuron has revised the wind turbine layout for the proposed St Patricks Plains Wind Farm. The changes avoid and minimise interactions with eagles and other fauna and flora, and address feedback and concerns raised by the community and visitors.
The new layout involves 50 wind turbines. Twenty-one turbines from the previous layout of 67 have been removed and four new turbine locations have been added. In this latest layout turbine locations are also no closer than three kilometres from the communities of Wilburville, Fintstone, Shannon and Penstock.
New dates for information days
Following the lifting of travel restrictions for all of Greater Sydney on Sunday 31 January, the project team has been busy rescheduling and we are pleased to confirm the following local information days:
- Bothwell – 4-7pm, Friday, 12 February – Club Rooms, Bothwell Recreation Ground, 26 Hollow Tree Road, Bothwell
- Miena – 3-6pm, Saturday, 13 February – Great Lake Community Centre, 55-57 Cider Gum Road, Miena
Note: Marshall Day Acoustics will also be available at the Miena session to answer questions about noise assessment.
If you would like to attend one of these days please email [email protected]
For those who are unable to attend one of the above dates we are still offering two online information sessions, on 9 and 11 February. These will be held via Zoom and can be booked online through trybooking.com/eventlist/spp
After the local events we are also happy to schedule additional online sessions if required to ensure everyone has the opportunity to discuss the revised layout with the project team.
We appreciate the Tasmanian Government’s approach to keeping everyone safe and thank you for your patience and understanding.
If Tasmania’s border entry conditions change before 11 February and the project team is prevented from visiting the area we will reschedule the local information days again. Please check the ‘News’ section of stpatricksplainswindfarm.com.au the day before for any updates or coronavirus.tas.gov.au for the latest travel advice.
Media release – No Turbine Action Group, 1 February 2021
WIND FARM THREAT TO THE UNIQUE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS
Wind Farm developer, Epuron’s revised plan for fifty (50) turbines at St Patricks Plains in Tasmania’s Central Highlands has been labelled as a second-rate attempt that does not address community concerns.
Chair of the No Turbine Action Group David Ridley, says Epuron will not be the operator but is a Sydney-based company that makes money from securing a Development Approval and selling the site-ready proposal to the highest bidder.
“After 18 months of supposed consultation, the latest revision is window dressing, with minimal changes made to the earlier ambit layout of 67 turbines. It is an investment module of 50 turbines producing 150MW (megawatts) which can be sold to an investor. It has nothing to do with solving community concerns – it’s a farce. It is a backward step with the situation made worse by Epuron repositioning some turbines and adding others. Final ownership by a foreign government business enterprise has not been ruled out by the developer.”
“There are too many turbines that are too high and too close to things of value in the Central Highlands”.
“Visual amenity issues have not been fixed. Massive turbines 240 metres high (three times the height of Wrest Point Casino) line gateway roads into the Central Highlands. Epuron’s latest plan for 50 turbines has made things worse – shifting of turbines not only closer to the Highland Lakes Road but also closer to Tasmanian Wedge-tailed Eagle nests. Access roads are to be built through statutory buffers around nests and through conservation covenants. The endangered Tasmanian Wedge-tailed Eagle is Australia’s largest raptor, sensitive to disturbance, and whose breeding and hunting territory would be severely marginalised by this proposal,” Mr Ridley said.
Malcolm Crosse, Director of Operations for the 2019 World Fly Fishing Championships, says turbines will still be seen and heard at Penstock Lagoon under Epuron’s revised tower layout.
“I promoted Penstock Lagoon to the international flyfishing community on behalf of the State Government, based on the area’s undeveloped nature. Turbines near Penstock will mean an intrusive industrial subdivision will be seen and heard at Penstock, turning away international visitors to this iconic lake.”
“I already hear noise from Cattle Hill Wind Farm which is 8km away and Epuron intends to have towers even closer – 4km away and 70 metres taller. Epuron has neither properly addressed visual and noise concerns for Penstock, nor properly considered alternatives that have been suggested – such as solar generator on Saint Patricks Plains, or an alternative wind farm site on the west coast in the Roaring Forties. Epuron is based in Sydney and has shown no consideration for the cultural, natural and historic values of this part of Tasmania and is just after a quick dollar in Tasmania, with the Central Highlands wearing the scars,” Mr Crosse said.
Local resident Dean Klower, who has an international business operating from Wilburville, says the proposal for 50 turbines concerns him.
“An additional turbine has been placed closer to Flintstone and eight turbines are located west and south-west of Wilburville. I am worried about being burnt out on high fire danger days because aerial fire control will be hindered by massive towers west of my property. The scenic values and quietness in the Highland area will also be lost,” Mr Klower said.
Victoria Onslow from Ouse who is passionate about the Highland Lakes area, including the heritage State Reserve at the Steppes, says Epuron “just doesn’t get it.”
“The St Patricks Plains Wind Farm is in the wrong place. The unique natural features, abundance of wildlife and heritage values of the Highland Lakes region are promoted by our local council and the State Government, attracting people from all walks of life – from adventurers to those who seek peace and tranquillity. These assets should not be plundered and destroyed for short-term profits.”
“There is no social licence for the St Patricks Plains Wind Farm proposal. Epuron has ignored the concerns of the community,” Mrs Onslow said.
Comment provided to Tasmanian Times by Epuron, 1 February 2021
- We appreciate the area is cherished by residents and visitors. Fortunately for Tasmania and the country’s renewable energy transition, it is also blessed with wind and three high voltage power lines that make it an ideal location for wind energy generation. We have worked hard in our design to create an efficient wind farm that preserves the unique natural features and local species and minimises impacts to settlements.
- We understand there are different views about the wind farm amongst the local community, and that while many people are supportive not everyone is in favour of it.
- The revision of the layout is significant. It’s a reduction in the number of turbines, based on many months of community consultation and ecological and engineering studies. The revised layout positions wind turbines away from the most utilised eagle flight paths and more than 3km away from settlements.
- Epuron understands the importance and value of community consultation. We are very active in our consultation on this project and it is ongoing. We enjoy engaging with the local community as a crucial and valuable part of the process. We welcome all questions and feedback, and the project team is always available via email and phone. We have also hosted local information days and will be holding more. We have reached out to NTAG on numerous occasions to discuss concerns and look forward to the next opportunity to do that.
- Wind turbines do not prevent aerial firefighting. This is a popular myth. Turbines are avoided by firefighting aircraft as any structure would be. Wind farms actually provide benefits for mitigating fire risk and bushfire management in the form of access tracks and by turbines providing a safe path to ground for lightning strikes.
Images in this post courtesy Epuron.
