As reported in the Warrnambool Standard today, the proposed Naroghid wind farm has had its development plan rejected by the planning minister, Matthew Guy. The proponent, Wind Farm Developments, will be forced to revise its application and re-submit under the new (2011) planning laws if it chooses to go ahead.

This brings to nine the wind farms blocked by state government due to and since its 2011 VC82 planning laws, as illustrated on our wind farm map.

The Standard reported today:

PLANNING Minister Mathew Guy has defended the state government’s record on renewable energy after recently approving five of six pending western region wind farms before stricter new planning guidelines kick in today.

The only one to be refused a development plan by the minister was a 21-turbine project at Naroghid between Camperdown and Terang. Windfarm Developments had proposed to spread the towers over 600 hectares of grazing land, but several nearby residents waged a vigorous challenge, arguing that some turbines would be as close as 500 metres from houses.

Under the new stricter guidelines turbines must be at least two kilometres from dwellings.

Mr Guy told The Standard yesterday the geotechnical-engineering report provided by Windfarm Developments was not comprehensive enough.

“The company will have to come back with the required information in a renewed application which will be considered under the new guidelines,” he said.

“We have recently approved development plans for about 180 of the proposed 200 turbines for new wind farms in Victoria.

Friends of the Earth have estimated the cost to Victoria in potential jobs lost, and dollars not invested, and we will update the figures with this latest information soon. The costs are not simply due to projects cancelled or blocked, but wind companies are leaving the state and no longer seeking to develop projects in Victoria, posing a bleak future for the further development of wind farms in the state.