This is one of the requirements laid down by the State Planning Department in its proposed new guidelines for wind farm development.

However, there is nothing in the guidelines to indicate that the developer has to comply with any advice emanating from these consultations.

The guidelines state that Council advice should be sought on factors such as:

# whether the wind farm is permissible in the land use zone where it is proposes;

# the likely compatibility with existing surroundings;

# consistency of the project with Council’s strategic planning objectives, including planned future land use for urban or rural expansion;

# likely road or bridge transport constraints during construction.

Other factors covered in the guidelines include:

Decommissioning

The guidelines require that the wind farmer owner, rather than the host landowner, must retain responsibility for decommissioning.

The developer must include a Decommissioning and Rehabilitation Plan in their environmental assessment report.

Where this is deemed to be inadequate, but development consent is granted, a condition of consent will be imposed requiring the developer to pay a decommissioning bond.

Community contributions

Consent may require the developer to make a contribution (monetary, land, or in-kind) towards community infrastructure.

As an alternative, the developer may enter a voluntary planning agreement (VPA) than can provide for a contribution to public amenities and services, environment conservation or provision of transport or other infrastructure relating to the development.

The developer can enter into private arrangements but these would be outside the statutory planning process and not relevant to the determination.

Bushfire Hazard

Bushfire hazards and risks “should be assessed.”

Issues include risk that a turbine could damaged if in a bushfire prone area; risk that construction or operation of the wind farm will create a fire that could spread to nearby areas; potential for the wind farm to impact on aerial firefighting.

Blade throw

Risk of “blade throw” – involving a blade breaking or being ejected during operation – should be considered, including quality standards, overspeed protection mechanisms, inspection and maintenance, distance between turbines, dwellings and property boundaries.

The proposed guidelines are open for public inspection and commission, and are available from the Department of Planning or at local Councils.