Third-generation farmer Emma Webb believes the region surrounding her family’s property on the NSW Southern Tablelands is becoming an “industrial junkyard” due to the rollout of renewable energy projects.
From her farm at Binalong, near Yass, the horizon is peppered with dozens of turbines, and she is worried there will be more to come.
Six more wind and solar projects have recently been approved in the Yass Valley, and the neighbouring Upper Lachlan Shire, by the New South Wales Department of Planning.
The districts already host 42 per cent of the state’s wind turbines.
“There is an overwhelming sense of powerlessness,” Ms Webb said.
“There needs to be a consideration of the cumulative impacts … this region is already saturated.”
The Rye Park Wind Farm, near Yass, is home to 66 wind turbines. (ABC Central West: Hamish Cole)
Ms Webb said while farmers understood the impacts of climate change, she wanted to see a “better balance” with the rollout of renewables.
“People in the cities delegate the enormous responsibility of growing their food to farmers and we do that under very difficult circumstances,” she said.
“Now we are also being lumped with the burden of energy production.”Latest wind project
Ms Webb is president of the Binalong Bowning Community Action Group, which has been created in opposition to the latest renewable energy proposal in the area.
The company Wind Prospect is preparing a scoping report for the Bendenine Wind Farm that would feature up to 90 turbines, each 260 metres tall.
Emma Webb’s property near Binalong has been in her family for three generations. (ABC Central West: Hamish Cole)
The project would be located less than 2 kilometres from Ms Webb’s home.
“The consequence is that our home, our community, our landscape will never be the same again,” she said.
“There are huge impacts being felt from this proposal immediately.”
Wind Prospect said it understood concerns about the number of renewable energy projects proposed across the region.
“Cumulative impacts, including social factors, will be carefully assessed as part of the Environmental Impact Statement,” a Wind Prospect spokesperson said.
“We remain committed to open, respectful engagement and to delivering a well-considered project that minimises impacts and brings lasting local benefits.”Council pressure
Yass Valley Council, where Ms Webb lives, has passed a motion calling for the state government to stop approving renewable projects in the district.
Mayor Jasmin Jones said 18,000 people lived in her community and existing wind and solar projects generated enough power for 500,000 homes.
Jasmin Jones says the shire has done enough to support renewable energy. (ABC Central West: Hamish Cole)
“We are not NIMBYs [Not In My Backyard], we have clearly done some heavy lifting,” Cr Jones said.
“There seems to be no line in the sand coming from the state or federal government.”
The council does not fall within one of the five renewable energy zones (REZ) the state government identified in 2021 as being ideal locations for wind and solar power.
Proponents of REZ wind farms were required to engage with councils and residents over community funding programs, consultation sessions and neighbourhood agreements among affected landholders.
Opposition to renewable energy projects has been growing in the region. (ABC Central West: Hamish Cole)
Since 2021, there have been 22 renewable energy projects approved within the REZs, while 25 have been given the go-ahead outside the five zones.
“These companies have really cottoned on that it is easier to get their projects approved in non-REZs,” Cr Jones said.
In a statement, NSW Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully said the guidelines for renewable projects ensured that communities received “equitable benefit” as part of the planning process.
“The guidelines are transparent, community-focused and deliver positive, tangible and long-term socio-economic benefits.”
Mr Scully said the planning process for renewables projects assessed the “social and environmental impacts,” and how they could be managed.
Rural communities targeted
The neighbouring Upper Lachlan Shire is home to more than one-third of the state’s operational wind turbines.
The Bango Wind Farm near Boorowa hosts 46 turbines. (ABC Central West: Hamish Cole)
In June, councillors voted 5-4 against a motion calling for the shire to be exempt from further renewable energy developments.
Mayor Paul Culhane said the way in which the transition to renewables was occurring was turning people away from the energy source.
“Everywhere we drive in the shire we will be seeing turbines,” Cr Culhane said.
“It is starting to turn public opinion against renewable energy in our area, which I think is not in the national interest.”
The Upper Lachlan Shire and Yass Valley Council are mostly made up of agricultural land. (ABC Central West: Hamish Cole)
Cr Culhane said there needed to be a change in how projects were assessed to ensure rural councils were not unfairly targeted.
“The framework of the planning instruments for this are pushing them towards small communities with not a lot of people and a lot of space,” he said.
“We don’t want to become a dumping ground.”