Friends of Collector Inc Submission Select Committee on Wind Turbines Select Committee on Wind Turbines PO Box 6100 Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 March 20, 2015 22 March 2015 Senate Inquiry into Wind Farms 2 Introduction and context The Friends of Collector organisation and its members congratulate the Senate on initiating this inquiry and opening up the wind industry and the policy settings that support it to closer public scrutiny. In responding to the invitation to provide a submission, while we are concerned about a number of the aspects outlined in the terms of reference, we have opted to focus on term of reference (d), namely: The implementation of planning processes in relation to wind farms, including the level of information available to prospective wind farm hosts Formed in early 2011 and with close to 100 members, the FOC has for more than four years maintained its firm opposition to the establishment of an what was planned to be an 88- turbine wind farm extending along 15 km on the ridges extending from the Hume Highway at Cullerin to above the Collector Village near Lake George in NSW, barely 60km from Canberra. This would adjoin the already established Cullerin Wind Farm with 15 turbines on the northern side of the Hume Highway. It would also be close to the established Capital Wind Farm at Lake George and with 67 turbines, currently the largest wind farm in NSW. It is also close to the proposed Tarago wind farm with a further 110 turbines. Since the unveiling of the Transfield Services proposal for Collector in 2010, the FOC and the local community have endured the worst of NSW’s planning processes including a cynical and tokenistic community consultation effort by the wind farm proponent. In 2011, in the face of strong opposition from the local community including a complaint to the NSW Planning Minister and ICAC that it had failed to declare almost $40,000 in political donations despite being required to under the planning rules, Transfield Services sold down an 80% interest in the wind farm to Thai energy company Ratchaburi to form RATCH Australia. Since then the Collector community had dealt with RATCH. Wind farms have lost their social licence to operate In the end, despite our best efforts to express our deep reservations and opposition to the proposal, late in December 2013 the NSW Planning Assessment recommended approval for a reduced scheme of 55 turbines along much of the ridge near Collector. Because of RATCH and Transfield’s own actions and approach, their relationship with the Collector community had become so toxic and dysfunctional that even in approving the reduced 55 turbine scheme the NSW Planning Assessment Commission found that ‘it (the RATCH/Transfield community consultation) has not been best practice and has exacerbated tensions within the Collector community’. 22 March 2015 Senate Inquiry into Wind Farms 3 We go further; we believe at Collector and more widely across NSW and other parts of Australia, the wind industry’s anti-community practices mean that it has squandered its social licence to operate. The industry must radically change its model and practices to regain any semblance of trust and co-operation with communities and regain its social licence to operate. We would prefer that the Senate encourage the Government to support renewable technologies other than wind as we head towards more reliance on renewable energy sources. The Government should divert any future funding for renewable projects away from wind to lower impact technologies, particularly large scale solar. And it is not only the Friends of Collector who believe the wind industry has lost its social licence to operate in NSW. Even some of the most ardent supporters of wind energy believe it has done so – even the ALP and Green dominated ACT Government which is committed to a 90% renewable energy target by 2020. NSW wind farms rejected by ALP ACT Gov’t in wind auction In February, only a matter of weeks ago, the ACT Government refused to award any NSW wind farm – including that already approved at Collector – any contract for long term supply of energy to the Canberra market under its much-touted ‘wind auction’. Given the ACT Government’s clear intention to support the establishment of local NSW wind farms, this is a signficant decision based partly on price but also openly on the lack of NSW wind farms to properly engage with their affected communities. All developers participating in the wind auction were required to demonstrate best practice community engagement processes for their projects and contributions to local job creation. The ACT ‘wind auction’ was concluded in February 2015 with three successful proponents: • Ararat Wind Farm Pty Ltd for a 80.5 MW proposal to be located north-west of Ballarat, Victoria. The project is being developed by RES Australia Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of RES UK, a global renewable energy company. • Coonooer Bridge Wind Farm Pty Ltd for a 19.4 MW proposal to be located north- west of Bendigo, Victoria. The project is being developed by Windlab Ltd, a Canberra based renewable energy company. • Hornsdale Wind Farm Pty Ltd for a 100 MW proposal to be located south-east of Port Augusta, South Australia. The project is being developed by Neoen, a French based renewable energy company. This lack of a social licence and dificulties in dealing with community concerns was raised in the ABC Country Hour report on the ACT Government announcement in February: 22 March 2015 Senate Inquiry into Wind Farms 4 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-02-06/act-wind-farm-contract/6075646 Australian Capital Territory energy contract to interstate wind farms blow to local operators NSW Country Hour - Michael CavanaGh An inability to work with the wider community is one reason given for rejecting a number of wind farms in southern New South Wales vying to supply electricity to the Australian Capital Territory. Licences to provide power were granted to two Victorian operations and one in South Australia which will begin pushing electricity into the grid by 2017. A number of wind farms surrounding the ACT had hoped to be part of the deal. "They need to continue to push hard," ACT Environment Minister Simon Corbell stated. "There are some good projects in the region but they just weren't as strong as other projects. "I would encourage them to look at the outcomes of the auction." The criteria set by the government includes price, and also how the companies operating the wind farms were involved with the community.” Members of Friends of Collector were also advised by the ACT Government Minister Corbell of this focus on the need for positive community engagement (see attached letter) Wind industry pattern of negative behaviour built on sense of entitlement The Senate has a genuine opportunity to see for itself in the range of submissions that there is a pattern of negative and cynical behaviour towards communities displayed by the wind industry that is not confined to one company or another. The negative practices are endemic and are a reflection of how the wind industry sees itself, namely one that is entitled to impose turbines on communities virtually at will for their own financial gain all under the guise of, and in the wider interests of, increasing renewable energy generation. This sense of entitlement should be unacceptable to government, to electricity consumers and particularly to the wider community. Under these practices, little attention is paid to addressing genuine community concerns. The goal is to gain as quickly as possible planning approval in spite of, rather than with, those residents affected. 22 March 2015 Senate Inquiry into Wind Farms 5 Communities are seen as an inconvenient bump in the road. The relationship with RATCH/Transfield in our direct experience at Collector is at best described as passive- aggressive. Rarely has it been constructive. A member of the Friends of Collector did attempt to bridge the gap and in 2012 agreed to join a RATCH-established ‘community forum’. His letter of resignation is copied below. His comments are self-explanatory. COLLECTOR NSW 2581 Ms Chair Collector Windfarm Forum Resignation from the Ratch Australia Collector Windfarm Community Forum Dear Ms I hereby resign from the Forum. Thank you for the opportunity to participate over the past two years. I believe in climate change and renewable energy and had hoped that Ratch Australia would effectively engage with the Collector community. Unfortunately, much of Ratch’s engagement has been characterised by false and misleading information: people have been reported to be at meetings when they have not been there; to have supported positions and roles which they have not agreed to; and points of disagreement or where tangible commitment has been required have been either ignored or evaded by clever words. It has become apparent that looking good for Government stakeholders is clearly a higher priority for Ratch than honest communication with the Collector community. The recent Collector community petition where over 80% of the townspeople call for the ACT Government to reject Ratch’s wind auction tender, confirms its failures in this area. Two years of clever, empty promises and meetings is enough: there are better things to do! People here want more than public relations spin in return for destroying our visual amenity, real estate values and community harmony. Yours sincerely 6 August 2014 Our concerns and experience is further outlined in detail in our submission to the Planning Assessment Commission in 2013 and this is attached for reference. 22 March 2015 Senate Inquiry into Wind Farms 6 Over the years we believe that this unacceptable ‘shortcutting’ behaviour by the wind industry has received succour and quiet encouragement from some pro-renewable energy policy makers and administators within the NSW, ACT and Federal bureaucracy.