Yes 2 Renewables have been on the road again, visiting towns in central Victoria to find out what the community really thinks about wind farms. Following on from successful listening post stalls in Lancefield and Avenel, we headed to Broadford for their annual carnival. Here’s Y2R volunteer Simon Ross’ report from the day:

Last Saturday Yes 2 Renewables took our listening post stall to the vibrant Broadford Street Carnival. Our objective: to gauge Broadford’s response to the proposed Cherry Tree Range wind farm and the awareness of the Baillieu government’s planning restrictions for wind farms.

The Y2R team found a bustling marketplace and planned activities throughout the day ensured that plenty of locals were given the opportunity to drop in for a banter. Yes2Renewables was situated by the BEAM Mitchell Environment Group stall who assisted in distributing flyers debunking the misleading propaganda of the anti-wind energy campaign that has been active in the region.

Visitors to the stall were unanimous in support for further wind farm projects, consistent with a credible CSIRO study which shows that a vocal minority of people are opposed to wind farms. Anti-wind energy campaigning confuses the community on the issue and stymie the transition to clean and renewable forms of power generation.

Most visitors themselves commented at the level of media coverage and publicity generated by some of the myths surrounding wind farms and questioned the influence they were potentially having in the broader debate. Overall there was great awareness of the issues surrounding the debate. Visitors were keen to peruse the Y2R pamphlets and join us calling on Premier Ballieu to restore fairness and consistence to the Victorian planning scheme.