Make a donation
Join Voice for Walcha

Join Voice for Walcha
Make a donation
Make a EIS Submission
Make an EIS Submission
Make a donation
Make a donation

Have your say, You must LODGE A SUBMISSION BEFORE Monday 4th November.

For tips on how to do this, go to the end of this page

As at October 2024

Winterbourne Wind

Response to submissions

Click here to read the Response

DEVELOPER

Vestas, Copenhagen Infrastructure + WalchaWind

TURBINES

118 (October 2024)

MEGAWATTS

700

SUBMISSION COUNTDOWN

Days

Winterbourne Wind have finally dropped their Amendment Report, as part of the Response to Submissions, after over 18 months and 5 extensions.

We have gone through the (2800+ paged) documentation, and we have a summary of concerns below.

We will compile a more lengthy comment on our website over the coming days.

We want to help our community ensure that all concerns with the project are heard by NSW Planning and the developer, so that if the project proceeds, its negative impacts are minimised.

Download a Summary Sheet

View Winterbourne Wind Project page prior to October 2024

Go to page

Our findings thus far ...

The project is too big

1. Construction period has been extended from 30 months to 52 months.

  • Increased impact on other local businesses.
  • Increased impact on tourism
  • Increased impact on community

2. Workforce of 390 during construction period.

  • Winterbourne Wind aim to source 1/3 of this from Walcha/Uralla (“aspirational target”).
  • Where will local businesses and Walcha Council get workforce and tradespeople from?
  • Impact on locals’ access to services and trades.
  • Increased pressure on short and long-term accommodation. This will lead to an increase in rental prices and displacement of local renters. It will also impact local tourism, and accommodation availability for events and visitors to Walcha.

3. 1655 over-size over-mass vehicles and their escorts to travel down Thunderbolts Way from Uralla and out to the project over 20 months.

  • Thunderbolts Way and the local roads do not have approval for use by these vehicles, as noted in the Winterbourne document. Approval from relevant authority is still required.
  • Pavement design is not adequate for these types of vehicles. This will result in Thunderbolts way being in constant state of disrepair and maintenance.
  • Will the safety of commuters on this road, including school children be compromised?
  • These vehicles will be travelling through Walcha – via Derby St and Jamieson St – what are the safety and amenity impacts?
  • These OSOM vehicles will not be travelling at night to Walcha. They will be arriving at the project site in the mornings. This will coincide with bus runs and peak traffic on Thunderbolt’s Way.
  • Where will the empty OSOM vehicles be travelling upon on their return journey? These movements could potentially impact other major arterial roads in our local area.

4. Source of Resources (gravel and water)is still not known. It is still unknown what construction material will be able to be sourced from the onsite gravel and the suitability of the water is still unknown.

  • If the proposed amount of gravel and water can not be sourced, as hoped by Winterbourne Wind, there will be significantly more heavy vehicles on the road that have not been included in the Traffic Impact Assessment.
  • 800MegaLitres of water is going to be required and potentially sourced locally. Do we know the impact on shallow water tables to local neighbours?

5. Cumulative Impact – the date for commencement of construction has been pushed back to the end of 2026 and construction will continue for 52 months.

  • Construction is likely to coincide with up to 10 projects around Armidale and Tamworth. What will be the cumulative impact on roads and the drain on the workforce?
  • What will be the social impacts of the influx of workers to the region?
  • Winterbourne still have not considered Ruby Hills in their Cumulative Impact Assessment.

The Project is in the wrong spot

1. The closest turbine is approximately 6km from the Walcha township. Projects should be at least 10km from Walcha, as proposed in the Planning Departments Draft Guidelines.

2. Access to the project for construction vehicles is going to severely impact the local businesses and community of Walcha.

3. Biodiversity Impacts are still at an unacceptable level as a result of the location of the project in an extremely sensitive area adjacent to the World Heritage Area, Oxley Wild Rivers National Park and Wilderness areas.

4. Vehicle access to the project is via 31 intersections with the Walcha local road network. 10 of these intersections do not have the required sight distances (ie. They are not safe).

5. Light project traffic will be coming through the middle of town via Fitzroy St and Derby St potentially endangering pedestrians and local traffic.

6. Unacceptable risks to road users in the project area including school buses.

The Developers do not have the support of the Community

1. Winterbourne Wind Farm has not engaged with the community since the closing of the EIS exhibition period. They have not presented the major amendments to the community. They have not addressed the community regarding the Response to Submissions despite 74% of Walcha LGS objections to the original EIS.

2. There is still no decommissioning plan or bond.Winterbourne will self-assess and put together a decommissioning plan 5 years before the project will need to be decommissioned. This leaves the landholders and the community at risk of abandoned wind turbines at the end of the project life.

Trust placed in the hands of an untrustworthy organisation.

1. Many of the mitigating features of the project rely on the self regulation of activities by Winterbourne Wind. This would be adequate if there was a prior demonstration of professionalism, respect for community, and ability to adhere to rules and regulations.

2. On numerous occasions, Winterbourne Wind have shown a complete disregard for rules, or an inability to adhere to them;

  • 5 extensions requested by WW for the Response to Submission, but not one of the requests were put in writing, by 14 days prior to deadline, as explicitly required by the NSW DPIE
  • Requests for information by community members during the response to submission period have not been answered.
  • Information in the EIS, as well as the Response to Submission, has been shown to be missing, misleading, or clumsily written. Copy and pasting (for example), has led to reference to the “solar project” etc, etc.
  • On and on ...

3. Many of these mitigating factors of the project, that are to be self regulated by the proponent, relate to safety of community members on the road, as well as dealing with decommissioning obligations. They also relate to the safe and responsible care of valuable biodiversity in the region during construction.

If an organisation is unable to properly deal with these requirements BEFORE determination, they will be even less motivated to deal with them properly AFTER approval.

Watch this space for updates

We encourage all residents of Walcha to make a submission to the amended Winterbourne Wind project.
If you have not done this already, please set aside some time to do so.

The Submission period is from Tuesday 8th October until Monday 4th November

To have your say on this document, you must log in through the NSW Planning Portal
BEFORE Monday 4th November.

Tips and a "How to Guide" to making a Submission on the NSW Department of Planning Portal

Project Timeline

September2020

Scoping Report & Sears

February 2022

Preparation of Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

October2022

Estimated Submission of EIS

December 2022

Public Exhibition of EIS

28 Days for Submissions from the Community and Stakeholders. The Exhibition Period has been extended till 23/1/2023.

January2023

Independent Assessment

As this Project has had a large amount of objections, it has now been referred to the Independent Planning Commission (IPC) for determination

Ocober 2024

Winterboune Wind response to submissions

28 Days for Submissions from the Community and Stakeholders. 

October2024

WE ARE HERE

Assessment & Determination

Estimated start of construction

Project INFORMATION

Click on titles to learn more

Some community concerns for this project are ...

Local road and transport issues

This project will cause impacts to local traffic and transport. If not properly dealt with in the EIS, this will end up being paid for by the ratepayer. At best, it will lead to extensive roadworks, further burdening traffic and transport.

Will also see significant road congestion from light vehicle movements at start and end of day, and heavy vehicles on main roads.

An example of congestion and blockages on the Bendemeer to Walcha road, with 90m long trucks (blades) 6m wide trucks (tower sections) blocking sections of road from traffic while travelling. Vestas have informed Voice for Walcha in a meeting that this trip could take 2 hours to complete, with sections of the road closed for long periods while extra long trucks carrying turbine blades negotiate bends and bridges.

High Voltage Powerlines

... in the region, both connecting project to main line, and additional main lines, impacting on visual amenity for the community, and landholders.

Noise from Wind Turbines

... in our audible range for 1.5km, and further for effects of infrasound. Infrasound has had many recorded impacts on human and animal health, but very little scientific research has been commissioned to clarify this effect.

Availability and cost of resources and services

... during development, as the developer monopolises demand for services and materials. The availability of gravel, and other resources, as well as services such as earthmoving, trucks, trades and labour will all be affected.

Has the supply of water been investigated properly?

Will this come at a cost to council and ratepayers From the meeting with Vestas 29th September 2022, we highlight that they estimate the requirement for 1.8ML of water per turbine, which they will have to either gain from drilling bores (as yet completely unplanned and un-prospected), or they will have to cart this water in. Calculating that 1.8ML = 72 trucks carrying 25,000L of water, for EACH turbine, or 220ML total. Over 8,500 semi-truck loads of water will be required for the Winterbourne Wind project. If a cattle property was running 500hd of beef cattle breeders, watering cattle though troughs, this would be enough water to last 40 years. If a bore is drilled successfully, this is an enormous amount of water to be dragged out of our aquifer system, affecting groundwater flows and future supply.

End of life de-commissioning plan from developer

There is no bond included in the proposal, so a corporation with no asset value can walk away without fulfilling this obligation. We are told that there is commitment, but if there is an ability for an overseas company to deplete itself of financial reserves, the logical next step is to walk away from a large financial commitment. The Winterbourne Wind project has changed hands three times already, and we haven’t even sighted an EIS. Who will be carrying the can at the end of the life of the project?

Waste

Un-recyclable blades requiring landfill burial at end of life of project. Will this occur at Walcha, creating new landfill sites? Or will it occur elsewhere, requiring excessive and additional transport demands on our local roads, which is unlikely to be included in the transport reports, and the agreements with council for road repairs.

What about the impact of project waste? Where is rubbish and waste from the workforce going to be deposited? Where is material waste from the project going to be deposited? Is this noted in the EIS?

Transparency and community engagement

... of developer and lack of community awareness of project(s). It is an absolute requirement and expectation that the developer engages with the community early and fully. It is completely apparent that this has not been the case, and that many in the community are only now becoming aware of the shape and scale of this project. The decision of the developer to have invitational drop in sessions, rather than community wide forums, has had a very limiting impact on the general awareness of their planned activity. The developer has done the absolute minimum that they feel is necessary, and we argue that they have missed the target by a long way. Regardless of their claims, it is a fact that the vast majority of the community has not been informed adequately by the developer.

Not to mention the division of community and neighbourly relationships.

Impact of transient workforce on the community dynamic

Specifically ... increased cost of long term housing, with many vulnerable renters being forced from affordable rent to skyrocketing rental costs.

Pressure on short term accommodation. As a workforce moves into the area, the limited supply of short term accommodation (Motels, hotels, B&B etc) will be swamped by this demand. Events such as weddings, race meetings, sporting events, festivals and tourism events will be impacted by the lack of accommodation options.

Pressure on health services and child care will increase as a temporary workforce places demands on these services.

Trades will be monopolised by a developers demands, leaving local community members short of options.

Community Fund

This fund designed by developer is estimated to contribute $0.5M to the community annually. Given that this project is estimated to generate around $150 million of revenue annually, (based on a conservative Power Purchase agreement in the $70/kW range) this seems an insignificant contribution to be making to a community that is absorbing significant negative impacts from the project. PPA agreements are likely to be well north of $70/kW.

Impacts on ...

Aboriginal community and heritage sites

Flora and fauna through construction process and follow up maintenance traffic.

Our agricultural industry – loss of access to agricultural land though construction exclusion, access roads and site areas. Impact on ability to make use of aerial services, including chemical spraying and spreading of fertilizer.

Fire risk!

The impact on our ability to fight fires in the gorge country with planes/helicopters with CASA indicating to avoid areas with wind turbine constructions.

Impact on local wind pattens and weather

“As the blades of the turbines turn to generate electricity, it also has inadvertent consequences. It creates a disturbance in the air that can have far-reaching effects on the environment. The turbulence created by wind turbines is known to warm up the surface temperature at night and cool it down during the day. The warming can raise the temperature by up to 2.7℉ and cool it down by up to 0.7℉. The speed of the wind is affected by a wind farm. As the wind hits the turbines, it transfers its energy to the turbines producing electricity. However, this robs the wind of energy and speed. However, the wind picks up speed once it passes the wind farm. This slowing and accelerating of wind can negatively impact the precipitation in the region.”

Link to other negative effects are discussed here (managed by a renewable energy product supplier)

Some community concerns for this project are ...

Road congestion and transport issues

We will see significant road congestion from light vehicle movements at start and end of day, and heavy vehicles on main roads throughout the day..

As an example, road users will encounter congestion and blockages on the Bendemeer to Walcha Road, with 90m long trucks (blades) 6m wide trucks (tower sections) blocking sections of road from traffic while travelling. Vestas have informed Voice for Walcha in a recent meeting that this trip could take 2 hours to complete, with sections of the road closed for long periods while extra-long trucks carrying turbine blades negotiate bends and bridges. It is expected that oversized trucks carrying 6m diameter tower sections will require 2 lanes to travel, further blocking sections of road for unknown periods of time.

Damage to road pavement

This project will cause impacts to local roads, that are simply not designed for ultra heavy vehicles.

If not properly dealt with in the EIS, this will end up being paid for by the ratepayer.

At best, if the developer adequately deals with cost of road repair, it will lead to extensive roadworks, further burdening local traffic and transport.

Despite our local council having some control over access to roads, and therefore some negotiating power over road upgrades, what happens at the end of the project, when we have no negotiating power to hold the developer to account, when road repair is required?

High Voltage Powerlines

... in the region, both connecting project to main line, and additional main lines, impacting on visual amenity for the community, and landholders.

The powerlines follow the project. If there is no project, there is no requirement for powerlines to travel thrugh the Walcha district.

Noise from Wind Turbines

... in our audible range for 1.5km, and further for effects of infrasound. Infrasound has had many recorded impacts on human and animal health, but very little scientific research has been commissioned to clarify this effect.

Availability and cost of resources and services

... during development, as the developer monopolises demand for services and materials. The availability of gravel, and other resources, as well as services such as earthmoving, trucks, trades and labour will all be affected.

Has the supply of water been investigated properly?

Will this come at a cost to council and ratepayers From the meeting with Vestas 29th September 2022, we highlight that they estimate the requirement for 1.8ML of water per turbine, which they will have to either gain from drilling bores (as yet completely unplanned and un-prospected), or they will have to cart this water in. Calculating that 1.8ML = 72 trucks carrying 25,000L of water, for EACH turbine, or 220ML total. Over 8,500 semi-truck loads of water will be required for the Winterbourne Wind project. If a cattle property was running 500hd of beef cattle breeders, watering cattle though troughs, this would be enough water to last 40 years. If a bore is drilled successfully, this is an enormous amount of water to be dragged out of our aquifer system, affecting groundwater flows and future supply. We are told that no work has been carried out to scope for underground water supply, so if this is not found, then water will be transported in by truck. At 1.8ML per tower, that equates to over 8,500 semi trailer trucks carting 22,000L of water. This is ADDITIONAL the traffic plan already circulated by Vestas.

End of life de-commissioning plan from developer

There is no bond included in the proposal, so a corporation with no asset value can walk away without fulfilling this obligation. We are told that there is commitment, but if there is an ability for an overseas company to deplete itself of financial reserves, the logical next step is to walk away from a large financial commitment. The Winterbourne Wind project has changed hands three times already, and we haven’t even sighted an EIS. Who will be carrying the can at the end of the life of the project?

Waste

Un-recyclable blades requiring landfill burial at end of life of project. Will this occur at Walcha, creating new landfill sites? Or will it occur elsewhere, requiring excessive and additional transport demands on our local roads, which is unlikely to be included in the transport reports, and the agreements with council for road repairs.

What about the impact of project waste? Where is rubbish and waste from the workforce going to be deposited? Where is material waste from the project going to be deposited? Is this noted in the EIS?

Transparency and community engagement

... of developer and lack of community awareness of project(s). It is an absolute requirement and expectation that the developer engages with the community early and fully. It is completely apparent that this has not been the case, and that many in the community are only now becoming aware of the shape and scale of this project. The decision of the developer to have invitational drop in sessions, rather than community wide forums, has had a very limiting impact on the general awareness of their planned activity. The developer has done the absolute minimum that they feel is necessary, and we argue that they have missed the target by a long way. Regardless of their claims, it is a fact that the vast majority of the community has not been informed adequately by the developer.

Not to mention the division of community and neighbourly relationships.

Impact of transient workforce on the community dynamic

Specifically ... increased cost of long term housing, with many vulnerable renters being forced from affordable rent to skyrocketing rental costs.

Pressure on short term accommodation. As a workforce moves into the area, the limited supply of short term accommodation (Motels, hotels, B&B etc) will be swamped by this demand. Events such as weddings, race meetings, sporting events, festivals and tourism events will be impacted by the lack of accommodation options.

Pressure on health services and child care will increase as a temporary workforce places demands on these services.

Trades will be monopolised by a developers demands, leaving local community members short of options.

Community Fund

This fund designed by developer is estimated to contribute $0.5M to the community annually. Given that this project is estimated to generate around $150 million of revenue annually, (based on a conservative Power Purchase agreement in the $70/kW range) this seems an insignificant contribution to be making to a community that is absorbing significant negative impacts from the project. PPA agreements are likely to be well north of $70/kW.

Impacts on ...

Aboriginal community and heritage sites

Flora and fauna through construction process and follow up maintenance traffic.

Our agricultural industry – loss of access to agricultural land though construction exclusion, access roads and site areas. Impact on ability to make use of aerial services, including chemical spraying and spreading of fertilizer.

Fire risk!

The impact on our ability to fight fires in the gorge country with planes/helicopters with CASA indicating to avoid areas with wind turbine constructions.
During recent fire events, being able to fight fires at the rim of the gorge with aerial services was critical to saving homes, livestock and pastures, and more. The very presence of wind turbines threatens the ability to fight fires with aerial services, as advised by CASA.
This will be the case for 30 - 60 years if this project proceeds.

Impact on local wind pattens and weather

“As the blades of the turbines turn to generate electricity, it also has inadvertent consequences. It creates a disturbance in the air that can have far-reaching effects on the environment. The turbulence created by wind turbines is known to warm up the surface temperature at night and cool it down during the day. The warming can raise the temperature by up to 2.7℉ and cool it down by up to 0.7℉. The speed of the wind is affected by a wind farm. As the wind hits the turbines, it transfers its energy to the turbines producing electricity. However, this robs the wind of energy and speed. However, the wind picks up speed once it passes the wind farm. This slowing and accelerating of wind can negatively impact the precipitation in the region.”

Link to other negative effects are discussed here (managed by a renewable energy product supplier)
Facebook-f Instagram

Drop us a line

us@voiceforwalcha.com

© 2024 Voice for Walcha