The Waubra Wind Farm is approximately 35kms North West of Ballarat. It is the largest renewable power project in the Southern Hemisphere. The Wind Farm began generating green power in February 2009 and was fully operational from July 2009.
You can find information from the proponent here.
There has been considerable discussion about possible health impacts on local people from this project. You can find a video on the ‘Waubra syndrome’ here.
Do you have an opinion on this farm? Please add a comment below.
Waubra wind farm
Barbara
March 8, 2011
We have wind turbines ……….. why are we paying exorbitant prices for electricity?
David Clarke
May 2, 2011
Victorians, in particular, like to say that Waubra is the biggest wind farm in Australia and/or the southern hemisphere.
Waubra has 192MW installed, Lake Bonney (stages 1 to 3) has 279MW, Hallett (stages 1, 2 and 4) has 298MW. The latter two wind farms are in SA. Let’s be honest here.
Val Stepnell
May 4, 2011
The Waubra wind turbines are a disaster for the whole district and surrounds. An industrial sight on rural zoned land is not workable. Property values have dropped along with properties being unable to be sold. Turbine companies buy out effected residents on lifestyle land but agricultural properties are in the too hard basket. Health problems for both the hosts and residents in surrounding districts are very real.No experts live near these eyesaws.
Visual,Motion,Flashing red lights,Sun glare & Noises which includes monontnous whooshing,knocking and whirring 24 hrs per day,7 days a week,12 mths of the year both in the workplace and home and garden does nothing for any living thing for many kilometres.WE KNOW!
Blair Donaldson
January 13, 2012
“Property values have dropped along with properties being unable to be sold.”
Conveniently ignoring the fact that the land is not in its natural state.
“Property values have dropped along with properties being unable to be sold.”
Evidence please? Windfarm whingers have form on this claim.
Blair Donaldson
January 13, 2012
Edit:
“The Waubra wind turbines are a disaster for the whole district and surrounds. An industrial sight on rural zoned land is not workable.”
Conveniently ignoring the fact that the land is not in its natural state.
“Property values have dropped along with properties being unable to be sold.”
Evidence please? Windfarm whingers have form on this claim.
2cherry
May 15, 2011
Yeah. Hmm. I don’t know if I’d consider this noise unbearable. I couldn’t even hear from about 50 metres away. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-tEsGsIlMA
Even under the the turbine, the natural wind hitting my camera superceded the noise of the turbines.
There was no sun glare. The flashing red lights you speak of are insignificant. The shade flicker barely extends beyond the turbine itself.
The wind turbines are actually workable, hence the cattle that was near the turbine itself. I can’t speak for them, but they didn’t exactly seem terribly affected by the presence of the turbine.
Better yet, after personally speaking with most members of the township, it became clear opinions like yours are in the minority and aren’t really granted the creedence you think they are.
Alistair Campbell
January 8, 2012
@ Val & 2cherry:
Yeah, have visited a few windfarms – we find their gentle swooshing quite peaceful actually. Standing under the 2MW giants at Mount Millar we found the “noise” barely distinguishable from the sound of the wind.
Also have no idea why the minority whingers seem to be given so much airtime – but I suppose that’s how it always has been with squeaky wheels.
For the record, I just prefer wind power to belching smoke-stacks – funny that…
For a comprehensive report on the antics of the anti-wind mob, have a look at:
http://www.independentaustralia.net/2011/environment/top-ia-stories-of-2011-the-ugly-landscape-of-the-guardians/
peter masters
January 14, 2012
Blair why dont YOU drive up to Waubra and ask around, thats if you can find anyone left.
Common sense says that anything that some people find objectionable will drop property values, doesnt matter if its a wind turbine, puppy farm, sewrage farm, abatoir etc some people dont like them. Thus there is a drop in potential competition.
Its really not to hard to grasp this concept is it?
Blair Donaldson
January 14, 2012
I’ve been dealing with landscape guardian loons and their tactics for around 10 years now, they have consistent form and unfortunately, manage to mislead the uninformed and the gullible. It’s not exactly a new phenomenon, creationists and anti-vaxers have been doing it for years.
The fact of the matter is that Waubra and other areas had no real problems, or very few, with the prospect of wind projects until the LG’s got in on the act spreading their lies and exaggerations.
You still don’t get it regarding property values, they vary all the time for a variety of reasons, if some poor sod manages to convince himself that his brain is going to be electrified by a nearby windfarm, there is very little that will change their mind. No doubt they’ll be convinced it will also affect their property values.
But just as climate change denialist cherry pick data, it’s easy to do the same for property values if you look over a short period of time. Over longer timeframes, the claims simply don’t bear out.
As usual, you make claims but provide no credible evidence. I don’t really care if you want to be a willing pawn on behalf of the LG’s and their fossil fuel funding buddies but so long as you use electricity, spare me the hypocrisy.
http://www.awea.org/blog/index.cfm?customel_dataPageID_1699=13380
If you are really genuinely concerned about property values, why aren’t you carrying on about the combine expansion in Western Victoria? Your silence is deafening.
Blair Donaldson
January 14, 2012
Edit: coal mine
Jane
December 5, 2012
Blair, I find it so interesting that you denigrate opposing arguments, not with reason or facts, but by name-calling and put-downs. Calling people “loons” and “whiners” is not intelligent. Your claims that there are no ill-effects from wind farms need to be backed by hard data. Have you, for example, statistics on property values? Oh, and, by the way, where do you live? I am betting it is nowhere near a wind farm or a coal-fired power station. Your credibility is on the line, IMO.