WITH state and federal policy driving a rapid transition from fossil fuels to renewable energies, regional communities are increasingly concerned about the impact wind and solar projects will have on their immediate environment and way of life.
Whilst there is a need to accelerate renewable energy approvals and projects, residents and landholders within the Southern Strathbogie Ranges along with Yea and surrounding districts are demanding stronger community consultation when it comes to proposed projects within the region and are asking developers to reconsider the location of the Seymour Wind Farm and its supporting infrastructure.
The Seymour Wind Farm is not in Seymour.
Spanning more than 50,000 hectares, the project’s 108 turbines will actually be dotted throughout the Strathbogies, with a number of local townships and small communities in proximity to the project area.
Fera Australia who are driving the project have been looking at two separate zones, with area under investigation bound by Avenel, Longwood, Ruffy, Highlands and Tarcombe.
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Infrastucture will be built on privately-owned farmland, with around 12 landholders signing up to host wind turbines.
Andrew Lawson, director of Fera Australia said the project has been under investigation for the last few years, and confirms the name is under review with the company looking to re-name it to more accurately reflect its location.
Members from the Strathbogies Responsible Renewables Community Group (SRRCG) place importance in projects being location-specific, and that begins with clearly defining where proposed infrastructure will be situated.
In a recent survey the group conducted one of the key findings were low levels of awareness in regard to the proposed wind turbine and high voltage transmission line project.
Catriona King from SRRCG reported only six percent of respondents had been contacted by Fera directly, while 39 per cent didn’t even know about the project.
Ms King confirmed the group had been rectifying this situation, pro-actively engaging and informing the community on the project.
Along with awareness sessions, the group have conducted two surveys seeking community opinion, with a total of 347 people registering their opposition.
The first survey was conducted in July and August of 2023, with a total of 201 respondents.
The survey was then re-opened in April and May of 2024 in response to requests from the community in Yea and districts, who had only recently become aware of the project.
The group have just finished compiling data from this most recent survey.
“Ninety per cent of the 190 respondents objected to the whole proposal,” said Ms King.
“A further six per cent objected to some elements, and only two per cent supported the project."
In the most recent survey, 95 per cent of respondents lived within or adjacent to the impact zone, with residents from Yea, Killingworth and Murrindindi the top three localities represented.
“Similar to 2023, the majority had relatively small landholdings, indicating a high proportion of ‘lifestyle properties’ in the region,” said Ms King.
“This is different from the predominantly large-scale agricultural settings where most other wind farms have gone ahead.
“The Southern Strathbogie highlands and Yea and surrounding districts is just an inappropriate location for a project of this scale.”
Ms King confirmed the most-commonly cited concern related to the impact on the environment, biodiversity and threatened species of flora and fauna.
However, this is just one of more than ten potential project impacts where the level of concern was registered as high.
Safeguarding the unique attributes and functionality of the landscape - from its geology to hydrology - was of significant importance.
The visual impact of the turbines, transmission towers and powerlines, along with the negative affect on land values and tourism in the region was listed as a major issue.
Alleged poor community engagement by Fera and the resulting low levels of awareness also drew strong condemnation.
Respondents reported being unsure as to what would happen at the end of the project life with the decommissioning of infrastructure.
They also felt disruption and damage to roads during the estimated two-year construction phase was an issue, with remnant bushland on roadside verges important habitat.
And indicative of the tightly-knit community, 92 per cent of respondents listed the impact on community and neighbour relationships as very concerning.
Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland MP believes it is crucial the government listens to impacted communities and their concerns, employing a careful and considered approach to the roll-out of renewables.
“The rapid expansion of renewables across regional Victoria is undeniable,” Ms Cleeland said.
“We are seeing massive international companies come into our communities and use our prime agricultural land, operating in a way that has created distrust, anxiety, and uncertainty in towns like Seymour, Ruffy, Avenel, and everywhere in between.
“The Seymour wind farm is an example of extreme community division, with a project more than five years in the works that has still left the local community none the wiser about the location, environmental and cultural impact, or regional benefit it will bring.
“When I last met with Fera executives, I was shown outdated regional maps with inaccurate property information.
“This old fashioned, heavy-handed approach is the Wild West when it comes to community consultation and is deliberately misleading, intimidating, and shrouded in secrecy.
“We’ve already seen the state government hell-bent on silencing regional communities by removing the planning panel process and third party appeals at VCAT when it comes to renewable energy projects.”
Ms Cleeland emphasised communities impacted by projects deserve more say in the matter, not less.
“We are talking about projects like the Seymour Wind Farm that could see the construction of 200-metre-tall turbines within two kilometres of your home,” she said.
“What happened to consulting regional communities?
“We know what can be achieved when we get the transition to renewables right, where communities are involved and benefit from the change.”
VicGrid is a division within the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, responsible for coordinating the planning and development of the state’s Renewable Energy Zones and transmission infrastructure.
The goal is to deliver a long-term, state-wide strategic plan that involves early engagement with landholders and local communities, partnerships with First Peoples, fairer community benefit arrangements, and certainty for investors.
“New energy infrastructure is being planned carefully, in consultation with local communities and First Peoples at the heart of the process, as we make sure Victorians have access to reliable and affordable electricity while we transition away from coal-fired power,” said a Victorian government spokesperson.
The government confirmed they were mindful of building the right amount of energy infrastructure in the right places at the right time, to minimise impacts on communities, industries and the environment, and keep down cost to reduce impacts on power bills.
“The Department of Transport and Planning has not received a planning permit application for the Seymour Wind Farm,” said the spokesperson.
“Any proposal will be considered on its merits.”
However despite renewable energy projects being judged without prejudice on both the good points and the bad, Catriona King from the SRRCG questioned the weight given to community and environmental concerns during the approval process.
In the past ten years, only two renewable energy projects that sought state planning approval have not proceeded for various reasons including environmental concerns.
"With more and more applications being made, balancing the needs for renewable energy and supporting the preservation of agricultural land remains a complex challenge faced by many communities, not just locally within the shire, but across Victoria and Australia," said Peter Stephenson, administrator for the Strathbogie Shire Council.
For council the input into any planning applications for renewable energy facilities is limited to consultation from the minister for planning and any pre-application consultation from the planning permit applicant.
"If an application is made, we hope that the Victorian government and the company will ensure there is broad and genuine community engagement with the opportunity for council and community to provide input for consideration," Mr Stephenson said.
