Southern & Hills Local Government Association
13 Ringmer Drv, Burnside SA 5066│ph 08 7122 4348│mb 0418 502 311│ Email: [email protected] │www.shlga.sa.gov.au │
Adelaide Hills Council │Alexandrina Council │The Barossa Council │District Council of Mount Barker │Kangaroo Island Council │City of Victor Harbor │District Council of Yankalilla│
26 February 2015
Attention: Jeanette Radcliffe Secretary Select Committee on Wind Turbines P.O Box 6100 Parliament House CANBERRA ACT 2600
Dear Jeanette
Re: Invitation to provide a written submission to the Select Committee on Wind Turbines
Thank you for the opportunity to provide a submission.
Background
The Southern & Hills Local Government Association (S&HLGA) was first formed in July 1969 and is now constituted as a Regional Subsidiary under Section 43 and Schedule 2 of the South Australian Local Government Act 1999. Consisting of seven (7) SA local government Councils: o Adelaide Hills Council o Alexandrina Council o The Barossa Council o Kangaroo Island Council o District Council of Mt Barker o City of Victor Harbor o District Council of Yankalilla
Collectively these seven (7) Councils have: More than 137,500 people as at 30th June 2013. 6,473 kilometres of local roads of which 3,491 are sealed, 2,982 are unsealed Area consists of 9,658 square kilometres. An ocean coastline of 653 Km. The River Murray and lakes form the southeast boundary of the region. The region has extreme diversity form the foothill suburbs of Adelaide to the isolation of the inaccessible west coast of Flinders Chase National Park. Significant areas within the region are under primary production include highly productive farm, horticulture, viticulture, forestry, fishing and intensive animal keeping enterprises and in the more undulating parts sheep farming, cereal growing and dairying.
1 The region contributed nearly $3 billion in gross value to the State economy in 2006/07 or 4.4% of gross state product. Much of the area has, (by South Australian standards) a high rainfall. A large part of the area is within the 30 Year Plan for Greater Adelaide. Significant growth pockets both in population and development, placing demands on infrastructure and the natural environment. Projected change in the population to 2026 by approximately 25%. Within the region, Victor Harbor and Goolwa are key retirement destinations. It is a major tree change – sea change destination Within the region, The Barossa Valley, The Adelaide Hills, The Fleurieu and Kangaroo Island are all major tourism destinations. Kangaroo Island is a major component of the Australian and SA tourism plan with tourist numbers targeted to double over the next decade.
Historical & Current Wind Farm Projects in the region
The region has one large turbine Wind Farm in operation. Starfish Hill Wind Farm is an onshore wind power station spread over two hills near Cape Jervis, SA in the District Council area of Yankalilla, Commissioned in 2003 it has 23 Wind Turbines with a generating capacity of 34.5 Megawatts. It is believed the construction cost was $65,000,000 with a further $3,500,000 nearby substation upgrade provided by SA Power Networks. It was classified as a State Infrastructure Project at the time.
The District Council of Yankalilla was a consulting party to a Myponga/Sellicks Hill large Windfarm proposal. The Myponga/Sellicks Hill Wind Farm proposal was by Trust Power (who were sponsored by the Office for Economic Development) this meant that it was Crown Development. It received approval from the Governor for 20 Turbines producing 35 MW and was valued at $60million. The Project, which while approved by the State ultimately failed to proceed after several extensions.
The District Council of Yankalilla also was involved in the Kemmiss Hill Wind Farm project proposed by Origin Energy in 2003/4 for 16 turbines producing 35 MW and valued at $55million. Origin were not afforded the status of Crown Development by the State as they were not a Government Agency (nor sponsored by one).The project application was rejected as a non-complying development and the proponent did not seek to pursue the development.
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Wind Farm Planning Policy
On 18 October 2012, the Minister for Planning approved the State-wide Wind Farm Development Plan Amendment (DPA).
See below the extract from RenewablesSA1 concerning this Policy amendment-
“The amendment was approved following a consultation process, in which there were 245 public submissions, 8 council submissions and 59 verbal submissions at public meetings.
The DPA explicitly envisages wind farms in all rural type zones in the state. In these zones wind farms will be classed as Category 2 developments and not subject to third party appeal rights unless a turbine falls within 2km of a non-associated dwelling or township type zone. If a turbine falls within 2km, then the wind farm will be classed as Category 3 and subject to third party appeal rights.
Wind monitoring masts will all be Category 2 developments and not subject to third party appeal rights.
The visual amenity of wind farms needs to be managed according to the following criteria:
Wind turbine generators need to be setback at least 1km from non-associated dwellings and tourist accommodation; Wind turbine generators need to be setback at least 2km from defined urban and township zones; They need to be regularly spaced, uniform in colour and mounted on tubular towers as opposed to lattice towers; and Vegetated buffers need to be provided around substations, maintenance sheds and other ancillary structures.
Wind farms should avoid or minimise the following impacts on nearby property owners/occupiers, road users and wildlife:
Shadowing, flickering, reflection or glint; Excessive noise; Interference with television and radio signals and geographic positioning systems; Interference with low altitude aircraft movements associated with agriculture; Modification of vegetation, soils and habitats; and Striking of birds and bats.
Wind turbine generators should be setback from dwellings, tourist accommodation and frequently visited public places (such as viewing platforms) a distance that will ensure that failure does not present an unacceptable risk to safety”.
1 www.renewablessa.sa.gov.au
3 In the following zones, wind farms will not be mentioned as an activity that may occur however the new policy regarding the management of visual amenity of wind farms will apply in these areas. The relevant zones are: o The Clare Valley corridor o Zones applying to coast and State waters o Conservation zones o Barossa Valley Protection District (designated as a non-complying development) o Fleurieu Peninsula o The landscape protection zones applying in the Flinders Ranges o McLaren Vale Protection District (designated as a non-complying development) o The River Murray corridor
The maps below indicate the areas within the S&HLGA region affected by this Policy Amendment.
Significant areas within the Council areas of Alexandrina and Kangaroo Island have been impacted whereby Wind Farms are explicitly envisaged and rated as category 2 if greater than 2 km from a non-associated dwelling.
4 Manoora Hoyleton Waterloo Robertstown BARUNGA Auburn Waterloo Kulpara WEST Morgan Halbury Point CLARE Saddleworth Pass
AND GILBERT Mount Balaklava Mary Bowmans VALLEYS Marrabel Rhynie Riverton Hampden Bower Port Wakefield GOYDER WAKEFIELD Eudunda Sutherlands
Clinton Hamilton
Inkerman Avon Tarlee Owen Pinery
Stockport Hamley Wild Horse Long Bridge Kapunda Plains Plains Dutton Blanchetown
Windsor LIGHT Parham Mallala Truro Dublin Freeling Stockwell MALLALA Wasleys Greenock Thompson's Templers Nuriootpa Redbanks Light Pass Moculta Beach Lower Light Angaston Roseworthy Tanunda Bethany Keyneton Two Krondorf Wells Sandy Sedan MID MURRAY Creek Swan Reach Gawler Lyndoch
BAROSSA Eden Cambrai PLAYFORD Williamstown Valley
Nildottie Springton
Mount Pleasant Walker Flat ADELAIDE HILLS Tungkillo
Palmer Purnong
Lobethal Younghusband Bowhill Adelaide Mannum
Woodside
Caloote
Stirling
Hahndorf Nairne Mypolonga Mount Barker MOUNT BARKER ONKAPARINGA Callington Monarto Murray Bridge
Wynarka McLaren Monteith Vale MURRAY Woodchester BRIDGE Tailem Strathalbyn Bend Willunga Langhorne Ashbourne Jervois Creek Moorlands
Myponga Mount Compass Beach Wellington
Myponga ALEXANDRINA Finniss Cooke Carrickalinga Milang Plains
Normanville Yankalilla Inman Currency Creek Second Valley Valley Clayton THE Wirinna Cove Middleton Goolwa Coomandook Starfish Port COORONG Hill Rapid Bay Elliot Narrung YANKALILLA Yumali Parawa Victor Harbor Delamere VICTOR Cape HARBOR Jervis Waitpinga
Meningie
Statewide Wind Farms DPA - Greater Adelaide
Wind farms explicitly envisaged Proposed Character Local government boundary and Category 2 if >2km from Preservation Districts Zones used in analysis for areas that facilitate wind non-associated dwelling NPWSA reserves Zones, policy areas and precincts farms based on zones at 10 October 2011. Zones in 0 10 20 30 km Area in which wind farms not that have 2km wind farm buffer which wind farms are not explicitly envisaged are explicitly envisaged and Category 3 Major road current at map production date. Existing and proposed wind farms Wind farms discouraged due to Major towns NPWSA reserves supplied by DEWNR. proximity to comparatively dense Built population and Category 3 Produced by DPTI - Planning Division Approved and progressing Other towns and localities 5 © Government of South Australia September 2012 PLN ID: 4057 Hardwicke Bay Stansbury The Corny Pines Point Point Turton
Warooka Wool Bay YORKE Port Yorketown Giles PENINSULA Coobowie
Wattle Port Edithburgh Point Moorowie
Foul Bay
Marion Bay
Starfish Hill
Emu Bay Cape Jervis
Cygnet Kingscote River
Nepean Penneshaw KANGAROO ISLAND Bay
American Baudin River Beach Parndana Island Beach
Rocky River
Vivonne Bay
Statewide Wind Farms DPA - Kangaroo Island
Wind farms explicitly envisaged Proposed Character Local government boundary and Category 2 if >2km from Preservation Districts Zones used in analysis for areas that facilitate wind non-associated dwelling NPWSA reserves Zones, policy areas and precincts farms based on zones at 10 October 2011. Zones in 0 10 20 30 km Area in which wind farms not that have 2km wind farm buffer which wind farms are not explicitly envisaged are explicitly envisaged and Category 3 Major road current at map production date. Existing and proposed wind farms Wind farms discouraged due to Major towns NPWSA reserves supplied by DEWNR. proximity to comparatively dense Built population and Category 3 Produced by DPTI - Planning Division Approved and progressing Other towns and localities 6 © Government of South Australia September 2012 PLN ID: 4057 State Co-ordinator General
In addition in 2014 the State Government of SA has expanded the role of State Co-ordinator General (CoG) to apply to Development proposals:
with an investment construction value of $3 million or greater and The CoG determines that the development is of economic significance to the State or would be best assessed under a scheme established by the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure ( Development Assessment Commission)
Comments
Given the nature of our Association concerned with Local Government we propose to only comment on three sections of the terms of reference:
(d) the implementation of Planning Processes in relation to wind farms, including the level of information available to prospective wind farm hosts
(e) the adequacy of monitoring and compliance governance of wind farms
(f) the application and integrity of national wind farm guidelines
The comments and observations are offered after consultation with the S&HLGA Member Councils in particular their Planning Departments.
Although the vast majority of our member Councils have not been party to or processed any Wind Farm Development applications it is generally felt the policies contained in the Development Plan following the State Amendment referred to earlier provide little guidance for Councils and Landowners.
Please note the specific comments from member Councils, Alexandrina and the District Council of Yankalilla.
Alexandrina Council: (d) the implementation of Planning Processes in relation to wind farms, including the level of information available to prospective wind farm hosts
Development Plan policy acknowledges the fact that wind farms are necessary and that they may need to be sited in visually prominent locations, there is however a lack of guiding policy relating to ancillary activities such as :
o Impacts of ancillary services – storage sheds, access tracks, additional power transmissions devices etc. o Noise and health impacts o Protection of primary production land – wind farms were considered to be likened to an industrial intrusion in the farming areas o Bushfire management o Habitat protection and environmental considerations.
7 Recommended that an Industry Code be established that contains relevant standards for assessment. Amending an Industry Code to keep up to date with emerging trends and technologies is considered to be easier than amending Development Plan policy.
There are strong concerns that given the scale thus construction value of all of the proposals that they may qualify for inclusion in the Co-ordinator General Major Status definition and that Local Government will be largely sidelined in the approval process and the local community disenfranchised.
District Council of Yankalilla:
(d) the implementation of Planning Processes in relation to wind farms, including the level of information available to prospective wind farm hosts
The key planning process issues are:
o Adequately informing the community (particularly those within the vicinity of the development) and giving sufficient opportunity to enable people to lodge informed comment during the public consultation process. – Current Development Assessment processes do not provide the right formal consultation process to enable this to happen (i.e. a 2 week consultation period for a development application). Most companies have ‘engagement’ resources, but they are seen as being tainted by being associated with the applicant company. Most of the development application fee for lodging an application for a windfarm is usually spent by Councils on obtaining consultant advice. o In Yankalilla’s experience in assessing a Development Application (DA), we received substantial public comment and our Development Assessment Panel (DAP) went on to hold 2 or 3 meetings just to give sufficient item for presenters to make their verbal (and Audio Visual) presentations in relation to their objections. It would have been good if a series of pre-application public information sessions could have been given by the proponent of the windfarm application in the lead up to the actual formal DA process. o Receipt of adequate information about the proposal – most companies lodge comprehensive information, the issue is making sense of it. The State agencies (Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and Dept. Health) seem to be poorly set up to help Local Government get another perspective on sometime complex technical information about windfarm proposals. In the past it has not been possible to get their expert staff to brief Councils /Development Assessment Panels during the rather constrained timeframe for processing Development Applications. o We found ourselves trawling the internet to find Wind Farm Guidelines/Policies from interstate and overseas to try to ensure that we were sufficiently informed about the relevant specific issues that the general planning policy only alluded to. o Current planning provisions within the Development Plans for most Councils in this State were inserted by the Minister for Planning. Apart from a couple of specific setback provisions, they are of a general nature that seem to cover most aspects of the physical development (health impacts are not part of this) – but really need to be backed up by a Ministerial Code that follows the form and content of something like the National Guidelines.
(e) the adequacy of monitoring and compliance governance of wind farms
o One of the biggest concerns for people (and Council) was whether the EPA would be properly pro-active in the ongoing monitoring and compliance after a windfarm might have been established. No one was reassured that they would attend to compliance issues
8 – particularly noise, in a timely manner, although there appeared to be sufficient control through conditions of consent. Local Government will always be the first port of call for people worried or being impacted by operating Wind Farms. At Starfish Hill, a turbine caught fire and exploded, sending debris almost a kilometre away from the site (onto nearby private land) – we were contacted and did not have much that we could offer about the situation apart from the contacting the operator etc.
(f) the application and integrity of national wind farm guidelines
o The National Wind Farm Guidelines are not something that we have had to familiarise ourselves with. If faced with a future development application – and this might be a moot point seeing as the Development Act 1993 now provides the opportunity for any development in excess of $3million to be assessed by the Development Assessment Commission, I am sure that Yankalilla will make reference to it in discussions with an applicant. Guidelines are useful in a limited way as they are not given any statutory weight. If they could be ‘codified’ and given statutory status in the DA process, then they could be a real benefit to an assessing authority and also give some re-assurance to the wider community that all of the relevant issues are being assessed.
If you have any queries regarding this submission please do not hesitate to contact the Executive Officer of S&HLGA
Yours sincerely,
Graeme Martin
Executive Officer
S&HLGA
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