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Capital Wind Farm MAJOR PROJECT ASSESSMENT: Capital Wind Farm Director-General’s Environmental Assessment Report Section 75I of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 October 2006 Capital Wind Farm Director-General’s Environmental Assessment Report © Crown copyright 2006 Published October, 2006 NSW Department of Planning www.planning.nsw.gov.au Disclaimer: While every reasonable effort has been made to ensure that this document is correct at the time of publication, the State of New South Wales, its agents and employees, disclaim any and all liability to any person in respect of anything or the consequences of anything done or omitted to be done in reliance upon the whole or any part of this document ©NSW Government October 2006 ii Capital Wind Farm Director-General’s Environmental Assessment Report EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Renewable Power Ventures Pty Ltd is the Proponent for the 63 x 2.1 megawatt wind turbine Capital Wind Farm Project. The Project also includes an electrical substation to facilitate connection to an existing TransGrid 330 000 volt transmission line, a facilities building, temporary and permanent wind monitoring towers, underground cables, a twelve kilometre internal overhead power line, and access tracks and works. The Project will be located about 12 kilometres south-west of Tarago on ridges of the Great Dividing Range to the east of Lake George in three groups: Groses Hill; Ellenden; and Hammonds Hill (Refer Figure 1). The wind turbines will be a three bladed rotor type, 90 metres in diameter, mounted on 80 metre tall towers. The top of the blade sweep will be approximately 124 metres above ground level. The Capital Wind Farm Project has a capital value of $220 million. The wind farm will be capable of generating 405 600 megawatt hours per year of electricity without any emissions from burning fossil fuels. This will offset the equivalent of approximately 390 000 tonnes of CO2e emissions per year if it displaces coal fired power generation or 264 000 to 284 000 tonnes of CO2e per year if it displaces gas fired generation. The wind turbines and electrical substation will be located wholly within the Palerang local government area. The transport of materials, including turbines, will pass onto roads in Goulburn Mulwaree local government area. There were 85 public submissions which included 49 objections. Both Palerang and Goulburn Mulwaree Councils made submissions and raised no objections to the project. The Department of Environment and Conservation, Department of Natural Resources, Sydney Catchment Authority, and the Roads and Traffic Authority also provided submissions on the Project. The Federal Civil Aviation and Safety Authority also made a submission. The objections raised in the public submissions concerned the visual impacts of the Project, the perceived potential for losses of amenity with increased noise, concerns with losses in property values, ecological impacts from bird and bat deaths from striking the turbine blades, and various construction related impacts including erosion and sedimentation. The Proponent prepared a Submissions Report which addressed the issues raised in the submissions to the Project. The Project will provide a range of benefits while the potential impacts are considered to be manageable and is therefore in the public interest. Following a comprehensive assessment the Department recommends approval of the proposed development, subject to the recommended conditions in APPENDIX A to manage and mitigate residual impacts. The recommendations cover on-going compliance mechanisms, independent reviews, community consultation and complaints management, and performance audits. Specific recommendations are proposed to address issues identified in the assessment process which include: • Construction and operational noise; • Flora and fauna; • Visual impacts; • Soil and water management; • Traffic and road dilapidation; • Indigenous heritage management; • Interference to television and radio reception; and • Decommissioning and site restoration. ©NSW Government October 2006 iii Capital Wind Farm Director-General’s Environmental Assessment Report Figure 1 – Locality Map Groses Hill Hammonds Hill Ellenden ©NSW Government October 2006 iv Capital Wind Farm Director-General’s Environmental Assessment Report 1 BACKGROUND........................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 CHANGED ASSESSMENT AND APPROVAL REGIME .................................................................................. 1 1.2 CAPITAL WIND FARM - A MAJOR PROJECT UNDER PART 3A................................................................. 1 1.3 STATUS OF THE PREVIOUSLY ISSUED DIRECTOR-GENERAL’S REQUIREMENTS ....................................... 1 2 PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT .................................................................................................................. 3 2.1 APPROVAL ORIGINALLY SOUGHT ........................................................................................................... 4 2.2 AMENDMENTS TO THE PROJECT.............................................................................................................. 5 2.3 JUSTIFICATION........................................................................................................................................ 6 3 STATUTORY CONTEXT........................................................................................................................... 9 3.1 PERMISSIBILITY ...................................................................................................................................... 9 3.2 MINISTER’S POWER TO APPROVE ........................................................................................................... 9 4 ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT REPORT EXHIBITION AND ISSUES RAISED ................... 11 4.1 ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT REPORT EXHIBITION........................................................................... 11 4.2 SUBMISSIONS RECEIVED....................................................................................................................... 11 4.3 ISSUES RAISED IN THE SUBMISSIONS .................................................................................................... 11 5 ASSESSMENT............................................................................................................................................ 13 5.1 OPERATIONAL NOISE............................................................................................................................ 13 5.2 CONSTRUCTION NOISE.......................................................................................................................... 16 5.3 FLORA AND FAUNA IMPACTS INCLUDING IMPACTS ON WATERBIRDS .................................................. 18 5.4 VISUAL AMENITY ................................................................................................................................. 22 5.5 PROPERTY VALUES............................................................................................................................... 29 5.6 SOIL AND WATER MANAGEMENT......................................................................................................... 31 5.7 OPERATIONAL RELATED IMPACTS ........................................................................................................ 32 5.8 TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORT .................................................................................................................... 34 5.9 ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERFERENCE ..................................................................................................... 37 5.10 INDIGENOUS CULTURAL HERITAGE ...................................................................................................... 39 5.11 PUBLIC CONSULTATION........................................................................................................................ 40 5.12 ENERGY SAVINGS AND GREENHOUSE GASES ....................................................................................... 41 6 CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................... 45 7 RECOMMENDATION.............................................................................................................................. 47 APPENDIX A. RECOMMENDED CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL ....................................................... 49 APPENDIX B. SUMMARY OF VISUAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT CRITERIA IN SELECTED DCPS AND GUIDELINES ............................................................................................................................................ 73 APPENDIX C. SUMMARY OF THE PUBLIC SUBMISSIONS ............................................................... 79 APPENDIX D. SUBMISSIONS FROM PUBLIC AUTHORITIES........................................................... 87 APPENDIX E. SUBMISSIONS REPORT.................................................................................................... 87 APPENDIX F. PREFERRED PROJECT REPORT................................................................................... 87 APPENDIX G. ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING INSTRUMENTS CONSIDERATION..................... 87 APPENDIX H. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT REPORT ............................................................... 89 ©NSW Government October 2006 v Capital Wind Farm Director-General’s Environmental Assessment
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