Victorian Liberal MPs have a choice before them this weekend – will they side with the community and defend renewable energy jobs and drought-proof income for farmers? Or will they put ideology first? That’s the question that community members who … Continue reading Pollie Watch: Will Victorian Liberal MPs support workers & wind farmers?
In Australia the noisy and misleading petitions of the anti-wind farm lobby, and the politicians who echo these claims, tend to drown out the quiet successes that have been accumulating across the country since the industry’s inception.
It is for this reason that stories like those of Ararat farmer Graeme Maconachie’s (see video below produced by our friends, the Victorian Wind Alliance) can still provide a potent reminder of wind power’s ready benefits to struggling rural economies, but also to the prospects of future generations.
Projects like the 52.5MW Challicum Hills wind farm featured in the video, which has supplied the region with much needed employment, investment and emissions abatement (140,000 tones p.a) opportunities since 2002, however, are at risk.
Ted Baillieu’s resignation presents the Coalition with the opportunity to dump the former-Premiers regressive anti-wind farm laws (called VC82). Research by Friends of the Earth estimates that the wind policy championed by Ted Baillieu has cost Victoria around $887 million … Continue reading TAKE ACTION: Petition Premier Napthine to dump Baillieu’s anti-wind farm laws
Victorian Greens Leader Greg Barber (MLC) has joined his federal counterpart Senator Richard Di Natale in identifying anti-wind farm campaigning as the source of stress and anxiety falsely attributed to wind mills.
On Thursday March 1, the Australian Senate debated the anti-wind farm bill proposed by Senators John Madigan (DLP) and Nick Xenaphon (Ind). Greens Senator Richard Di Natale gave a powerful speech addressing the alleged health impacts from wind farm noise. Di Natale, a doctor and medical health specialist, said “It is the spread of misinformation that causes harm; not the wind turbines themselves.”
Mr Barber’s office released the following statement on the matter echoing Di Natale’s assessment of the real causes of stress and anxiety:
The Greens say it is the anti wind farm lobby that is causing stress and anxiety amongst wind farm neighbours.“There is no ‘wind turbine syndrome’, only Simon Ramsay Syndrome,” said Victorian Greens Leader Greg Barber.“He’s running around scaring people into thinking this mysterious low frequency noise is making them sick.” Continue reading “Pollie Watch: Vic Greens leader says anti-wind farm lobby causes stress, anxiety”
Southwest Victoria’s regional economy has boomed from the construction of the Macarthur and Oaklands wind farms. To date, the projects have pumped $67 million into the local economy, employed around 900 people during construction, and will provide 52 ongoing jobs.
The report’s findings are consistent with the Baillieu government’s own figures which found that, in 2009 alone, the wind energy sector pumped $1.2 billion into the Victorian economy.
Despite the apparent economic benefits wind farms deliver for regional communities, Premier Ted Baillieu’s planning reforms have shut down Victoria’s once thriving wind energy sector.
Since the introduction of the VC82 planning amendment in August 2011, 700+ megawatts of wind farm projects have been withdrawn (see ‘The Wind Farms That Baillieu Killed…‘) and not one major project been approved.
Unless Premier Baillieu has the good sense to repeal the VC82 amendment, regional Victoria is unlikely to enjoy the economic benefits of wind farms in the near future. Continue reading “Wind farms pump $67m into southwest Victoria”
In September, the Yes 2 Renewables campaign joined forces with Beyond Zero Emissions to tour southwest Victoria.
The purpose of our trip was simple: Yes 2 Renewables wanted to gain a local perspective on wind farms, and update the community up about the Baillieu government’s renewable energy policies—particularly the impact anti-wind energy planning guidelines.
While day one of the southwest tour focused on public presentations and meeting community groups, on day two we found ourselves on the factory floor of a wind turbine tower manufacturer and up-close-and-personal with operating wind turbines. Continue reading “Campaign Diary 2012: Southwest Victoria Trip, Day 2”
In September, the Yes 2 Renewables campaign joined forces with Beyond Zero Emissions to tour southwest Victoria.
Situated on the coast, the area surrounding Warrnambool, Port Fairy, and Portland bares the full brunt of burly sea winds to hit the continent from the southern ocean. It’s no surprise that dozens of vessels shipwrecked on the southwest coast—due in no small part to the wind. Even when travelling in the modern-day convenience of a car, one could feel wind gusts push the car around the tarmac—the strength of the wind seemingly intensifying with each kilometre travelled.
With its vast wind resource, southwest Victoria is among Australia’s most important renewable energy regions. While this honour comes with several operational wind farms and manufacturing base, as we found out, it also means the area has been among the first to feel the impacts of changed wind farm planning laws implemented by the Baillieu government just over a year ago. The Portland-based engineering firm, Keppel Prince, has seen demand for its services drop off with the collapse of the project pipeline for wind farms.
The purpose of our trip was simple: Yes 2 Renewables wanted to gain a local perspective on wind farms, and update the community up about the Baillieu government’s renewable energy policies—particularly the impact anti-wind energy planning guidelines.
Continue reading “Campaign Diary 2012: Southwest Victoria Trip, Day 1”
The Macarthur wind farm, which is currently under construction in western Victoria, will start generating clean renewable energy this weekend. Once completed, the farm will be the southern hemisphere’s largest wind energy project.
Projects like the Macarthur wind farm are critically important for Victoria’s transition from an economy powered by fossil fuels to one powered by renewables. Unfortunately, the anti-wind farm regulatory environment created by the Baillieu government means it could be some time before Victoria gains another wind farm of this scale.
Peter Collins reports for The Standard: Continue reading “The Standard: Macarthur Wind Farm Turbines Start Generating Electricity”
Published by New Matilda. Read the original article.
By Ben Eltham.
The Victorian town of Portland is home to a huge aluminium smelter – and two big firms in the wind business. It’s an ideal place to witness the changes in the Australian energy industry, writes Ben Eltham
Cruising just above the cloud line above western Victoria, the farmland rolls out in tidy checkerboards, dotted with haystacks and sheep.
Fluffy cumulus casts irregular shadows across the landscape, while a dirty grey smudge heralds a spring shower ahead. Apart from the vast brown and green rectangles of cropland, perhaps the most noticeable landmark is a long line of high-voltage electricity towers, suspending thin grey power cables in long spooling droops. They stretch out in linear discipline all the way toward a small town, hugging the coast in the distance ahead. Our little twin-prop Metroliner bucks and yaws in the breeze, but none of the passengers look too concerned.
Suddenly, the engines heighten in pitch and our plane rolls left, showcasing dramatic views of a tall ocean bluff, topped with dozens of lazily spinning wind turbines. Out the other side of the plane, I can catch a glimpse of our destination: the town of Portland in western Victoria.
I’m visiting Portland thanks to the assistance of energy company Pacific Hydro, which paid for these flights and whose assistance it’s important to disclose. I’ve accepted their assistance because Portland is one of the best places to see the transformation under way in Australian energy.
Continue reading “New Matilda: Smelters, Wind Turbines and Jobs”
If you’ve been following the development of wind energy in Australia then chances are you’ve heard of Waubra. The small country town in western Victoria is home to one of the largest wind farms in the southern hemisphere and emerged as a key battleground for the anti-wind farm lobby in Victoria. (The anti-wind farm group the Waubra Foundation went so far as to coopt the town’s name for their own narrow interests.)
The following story published by The Courier details how locals are trying to escape the nastiness of anti-wind farm campaigning. Waubra residents will hold a community festival on Saturday October 6 to reemphasise their town’s reputation for strong community and quality produce.
Evan Schurrman reports for the Ballarat Courier: Continue reading “The Courier: Winds of Change at Waubra”
yes2renewables.org 