The New South Wales Department of Planning has extended its call for submissions on a proposed wind farm project near the township of Collector—located on the ‘strategic corridor’ between the nation’s capital, Canberra, and largest city, Sydney.

RATCH-Australia Corporation propose building 68 wind turbines to generate up to 228 megawatts of zero-carbon electricity. The $350 million project would:

• Generate enough electricity to power 80,000 homes annually.
• Help Australia meet the 2020 Renewable Energy Target.
• Establish a $200,000 ‘community benefit fund’ once the project is operational.
• Create approximately 100 jobs during construction and 10 to 15 permanent jobs.

Despite the many benefits of wind energy (for example), such projects often catch the attention of anti-wind energy interests. ‘As we know, the organised campaign against wind energy tends to get a disproportionate amount of coverage in the media,’ says Cam Walker, Friends of the Earth campaigns coordinator. ‘This skews the debate and suggests there is greater angst about wind energy than is actually the case.’

If you live in the neighbourhood and support renewable energy, please make a submission today – it will only take a few minutes. Your personal views will add an authentic local voice to the decision-making process and help counter the spin of anti-wind energy interests. Please encourage your friends to also write a submission.

The community will have until Monday 24 September 2012 to make submissions. Submissions can be:

• Faxed to (02) 9228 6455;
• Posted to Major Projects Assessment, Department of Planning & Infrastructure, GPO Box 39, Sydney NSW 2001; or,
• Emailed to plan_comment@planning.nsw.gov.au.
• Online submissions can be made at the Department of Planning website.