This document is a summary of the Development Proposal and Environmental Management Plan (DPEMP) for the proposed Musselroe Wind Farm. The DPEMP is produced in five volumes as shown above. The Project Summary is not part of the DPEMP but provides an 5 abridged version of its contents. The Project Summary includes a brief description of the proposed development, assesses the likely impacts of the Project on environmental and socio- economic factors, and summarises the commitments process made by Hydro Tasmania in relation to the management of potential environmental impacts.
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0 Foreword FFoorreewwoorrdd
The project proposed is for the construction of a $270 million wind farm on private land near Little Musselroe Bay at Cape Portland in north-east Tasmania. As a renewable energy project the Musselroe Wind Farm (the Project) will contribute to the Commonwealth Government’s Mandated Renewable Energy Target (MRET). The MRET is based on the recognition that renewable energy is a global key to long-term reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. This Project will generate approximately 400,000 MWh of renewable electricity and displace an
estimated 368,000 tonnes CO2-e per year. In addition, the Project will provide considerable revenue to the State of Tasmania, facilitate the generation of temporary and long-term employment opportunities, and create indirect flow-on benefits to a number of service industries in the region.
Hydro Tasmania is seeking a planning permit from Dorset Council for the establishment of the wind farm and a corridor of land for the construction of a 110 kV transmission line to connect the wind farm to the Tasmanian electricity grid at the Derby Electricity Substation. Under provisions of the Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act 1994 the Project has been determined a Level 2 Activity1. This means that the Board of Environmental Management and Pollution Control (Board) will assess the environmental impact of the Project. In August 2002, the Board issued guidelines for the preparation of a Development Proposal and Environmental Management Plan (DPEMP) to meet the requirements of that Act.
This document summarises the potential environmental, social, and economic effects of the Project (both positive and negative) and outlines proposed avoidance and mitigation strategies. Detailed discussion of these issues is expanded upon in volumes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 that form the DP&EMP submitted to the regulatory authorities.
Based on the information contained in the DPEMP Council will determine the development application following receipt of a determination from the Board. The Board’s environmental assessment of the Project must be undertaken in accordance with Environmental Impact Assessment principles (Section 74 EMPCA) and must seek to further the objectives of the Resource Management and Planning System (RMPS) and the specific objectives of the Land Use Planning Approvals Act 1993 (LUPAA).
Commonwealth approval is also required under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBCA). On June 28, 2002, the Commonwealth Minister determined the Project was a controlled action (that is, that the development had the potential to affect a matter of national environmental significance) and that the controlling provisions were:
1 Level 2 Activities are those specified in Schedule 2 of the Environment Management and Pollution Control Act 1994, which may cause environmental harm or an environmental nuisance.
Musselroe Wind Farm Project March 2003 Project Summary i sections 18 and 18A (listed threatened species and communities); and