Southern Wimmera Renewables Research Association, The Buloke Times

The Southern Wimmera Renewables Research Association (SWRRA) formed in response to the announcement of plans for a wind facility at Campbells Bridge. The association has a membership of 100 and is growing steadily, as well as 260 Facebook followers.

The association, made up by farmers and residents from the Southern Mallee, aims to accumulate and communicate information relating to the government’s plans for Renewable Energy (RE) within the region and the potential impacts, so that affected communities are adequately informed. Members are also exploring commissioning research into the impacts of RE on the landscape, working with organisations, and lobbying government as part of their campaign to protect the community and landscape from large-scale renewable energy developments.

Campbells Bridge

The proposed Campbells Bridge wind facility consists of approximately 145 turbines between 250-280m high over an area of approximately 250 square kilometres, stretching from Marnoo West/ Rupanyup South in the North, to Glenorchy in the South.

The facility would also include a substation, and kilometres of private transmission lines, and potentially a Battery Energy Storage System. The project is in the “Planning and Approvals” phase; the proponents anticipate that construction will begin in 2027, and the facility operational by 2029. Hosts will purportedly receive approximately $42,000 per turbine per year, for at least 25 years, with the option of extending the agreement.

The proponent, RWE, is a multinational energy company that predominately burns coal; it only recently entered the Australian renewable energy market.

The Wimmera/Southern Mallee region is in Western Victoria’s Renewable Energy Zone. Renewable energy will be heavily concentrated in our region if Labor’s “Re-wiring the Nation” program continues unchecked:

Facilities currently operating: Bulgana wind facility, Stawell solar facility, Murra Wurra wind farm, Kiata Wind facility.

Under construction/approved: Ledcort Solar Facility, Horsham Solar facility, Nhill Solar facility, Natimuk Solar facility.

Proposed: Navarre Green-power Hub, Campbells Bridge Wind Facility, Watta Wella Renewable Energy Project, Warracknabeal Energy Park, Jung Energy Facility, Wimmera Plains Energy Facility (Kalkee), Curryo wind facility, Wilkur Energy Hub. There has been word of a Tulkara Wind Facility as well in the Northern Grampians Shire.

Transmission lines

With all of these RE facilities, comes the created need for high voltage transmission lines to transmit the power to the cities, where it will be used, which explains why VNI West and WRL have been proposed for the region. Proponents will also need to construct kilometres of private transmission lines to connect the project to the grid. Cumulatively, the region is at risk of becoming industrialised if Labor’s “Rewiring the Nation” program continues unchecked.

The SWRRA has many concerns about the Campbells Bridge Wind facility. The landscape values are of primary concern: the region is flood prone, has immense scenic and ecological value, and is considered prime-agricultural land.

There is also no legislation mandating that the wind companies decommission the project and rehabilitate the land at the end of its life, potentially leaving hosts with millions of dollars in clean-up expenses.

The group also has concerns about the impact of divisive RE projects on communities, and residents, including the Dunns and Byrons, who will be forced to live just 1.6km from these gargantuan turbines (for comparison, Murra Wurra turbines are 211m, Waubra 120m).

The health and wellbeing impacts of living within close proximity to wind turbines are well documented. In the 2014/15 Senate Inquiry into Wind Turbines, countless residents submitted evidence detailing the adverse health impacts of living near turbines, which included, but was not limited to, irritability, anxiety, depression, tinnitus, and migraine.

In 2022 the Supreme Court found that that the noise emitted by the Bald Hills wind turbines caused several residents living within close proximity to the turbines to suffer from sleep deprivation; it is scientifically proven that sleep deprivation has a detrimental impact on health and wellbeing. The company was ordered to pay damages and turn the turbines off at night.

The conduct of the proponent has also been a source of distress for affected communities, with consultation being disingenuous in terms of RWE not sharing information nor showing any propensity to adopt community feedback.

The group also represents the concerns of residents and communities affected by the proposed Navarre Green Energy Hub. The hub is only a few kilometres from the township of Navarre and will impact many houses in the valley between the two sides of the proposed project area. 102 turbines at a height of 280m are proposed, in one of the most valuable biodiversity regions in Victoria – right beside one national park, one state forest and three conservation reserves. The project is in the planning and approvals stage of development.

Viable alternatives

There are viable alternatives to build capacity and reliability within Australia’s electricity network that are far less impactful than what is proposed, including upgrading and extending existing infrastructure and using a combination of micro-nuclear, renewable energy, gas, and coal. Ultra-super critical coal and other emerging technologies are also a possibility.

With all of this in mind, SWRRA will continue its campaign, and calls upon the state and federal governments to create stringent National Guidelines for RE facilities in Australia and conduct a senate inquiry into the impacts of the Climate Change Strategy and Re-Wiring the Nation programs. There also needs to be a moratorium placed on all RE projects until the above requests have been fulfilled and the moratorium on nuclear energy lifted to begin exploring the role it could play in Australia’s energy market by looking to global leaders in this industry.

Overall, the government needs to commit to transparency and genuine consultation with affected communities in relation to renewable energy.

Call to action

In relation to the Campbells Bridge Project specifically, SWRRA calls upon the Victorian Planning Minister, Sonya Kilkenny, and the Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner, Andrew Dyer to order an independent hydrological study be conducted in the proposed Campbells Bridge wind facility zone (not an independent expert commissioned by RWE – the proponent). In the meantime, Mr Dyer should request that RWE abandon the project due to planning concerns.

Failing that, RWE should give buffer zones of at least 5km from dwellings and the 1km exclusion zone be within the hosts’ farm boundary; the Campbells Bridge project should undergo an Environmental Effects Statement and the Victorian Planning Minister should request that RWE engage genuinely with affected communities, in relation to information sharing, the implementation of feedback.

SWRRA also encourages the community to become informed on the potential changes coming to the region if Labor’s “Rewiring the Nation” continues unchecked, by visiting SWRRA.com or reaching out to us via email admin@swrra.com or by following us on Facebook.

This article appeared in The Buloke Times, 1 December 2023.