Molonglo Landscape Guardians RSS Feed

EPAW demands moratorium on european wind energy developments

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 01:59:01 GMT

European Platform Against Windfarms (EPAW), a federation of associations and other groups from nine different EU countries, has launched their new website and invited groups in the EU to join their international fight for a moratorium on european wind energy.

The EPAW is made up of 126 signatory organisations across nine european countries. These signatory organisations are listed on the EPAW website.

The aim of EPAW is to defend the interests of the numerous groups that are either fighting individual windfarm projects, or denouncing the ineffectiveness of windfarms for solving the problems of man and the planet, or fighting generally against their deleterious effects as regards people and their health, wildlife, landscapes, tourism, property values, quality of life, bush fires, erosion, water contamination and other ill effects on the environment.

In an Open Letter to the European Institutions published on their website, EPAW states that the Platform is favourable to renewable energies when they efficiently reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and the corresponding CO2 emissions, and when they are socially, economically and environmentally acceptable. However, the EPAW deplores the fact that the deployment of some of these renewable energies takes place in the European Union under the pressure of financial or ideological lobbies yet the results don't fulfil the fundamental demands of sustainable development. EPAW has noted that windfarms are the most worrying case, because they have drained most of the public funding dedicated to renewable energies without ever having demonstrated their usefulness. Worse – as is the case worldwide – they have contributed to degrade the existing environment.

For further information visit the EPAW website where you can read the full text of the open letter, messages of support from organisations across the globe, and links to other wind farm opponent groups.

Call for wind farm approvals to be returned to local councils

Sun, 04 Jan 2009 03:27:50 GMT

Parliamentary inquiry needed to review planning issues and effectiveness of wind energy

Katrina Hodgkinson, state member for the NSW electorate of Burrinjuck says the power to approve wind farm developments should be returned to local councils.

Hodgkinson, whose electorate in central NSW is home to several existing or planned industrial wind installations that have been vigorously opposed by her constituents, is calling for the NSW Government to hold a parliamentary inquiry into the planning requirements for wind farms as well as their effectiveness in conserving energy.

The Nationals MP says the Planning Minister should also be stripped of the right to approve the developments.

She says residents in the Crookwell area are concerned the Planning Minister does not understand the impact wind farms have on land values.

"It's of great concern to them that they really don't have any ability to stop some sort of development going on in their own backyard despite the fact that they've got to live with the consequences," she said.

"They are saying very strongly to me let's bring it back to the community. Let's bring the planning decisions back to the local communities that are going to be impacted."

Ms Hodgkinson says currently there is no consistency in the Planning Minister's approval.

"Until we have that framework these sorts of developments are just going to go ahead willy nilly at the discretion of whoever happens to be the Planning Minister of the day in NSW," she said.

"I don't think that that's good enough."

Every cloud has a silver lining: global credit crunch puts Australian wind farm developments on hold

Sat, 13 Dec 2008 07:00:24 GMT

According to a report on the ABC rural website, many Australian industrial wind farm projects are on hold due to a combination of problems securing credit, the drop in the Australian dollar and a wait for renewable energy targets from the Federal Government.

Bemoaning the fact that finance for these projects has dried up, Nick Crawly, managing director for financial consulting firm Navigator Project Finance, said money was available for wind projects until the economic problems started. Since then, finance has gone and projects are being cancelled.

While the speculators in the industrial wind industry may be distraught at this turn of events, many rural communities around Australia facing an unwanted industrial wind installation in their neighbourhood will, no doubt, view this as a most welcome reprieve.

Links to the report on the ABC website and a PODcast of the interview are available from the MLG website.

It's over: Acciona pulls the plug on Molonglo Ridge

Sat, 31 May 2008 01:27:56 GMT

In welcome news, Acciona have announced that they will not be proceeding with the Molonglo Ridge Industrial Wind Plant.

A media release quietly slipped out by the company under embargo until 29 May 2008 confirmed what the community knew all along – that the project was not viable.

Stating the obvious, Acciona Managing Director, Brett Thomas said that the site did not meet their standards as appropriate development. This is hardly a surprise – the Molonglo Landscape Guardians (MLG) have consistently argued that the proposed Industrial wind plant was too close to homes, too close to wildlife habitat, and too close to water catchment areas. What a pity it took Acciona 4 years to notice these things.

“We have looked very closely at the proposed project over a period of time so that we could fully understand the technical, environmental, community and financial aspects of the site. Having completed this work and listened to stakeholders, including landowners, government and the community; we have decided that the site does not meet our very strict standards for appropriate development”, Brett Thomas said.

The media release claims that the company carried out "extensive" consultation with the community during 2004 and 2005. We question this claim and have documented Acciona's abyssmal performance in consultation. Their hopelessly out-of-date website has not been updated since March 2005, which was about the same time all meaningful communication with the community and local government ceased. They conducted four local meetings over as many days in December 2004, and issued three, empty newsletters – the last of which was published on their website in March 2005. Since then, nothing but the occasional press release with the standard line "studies are continuing". All in all, Acciona's efforts at consulting with the community have been nothing short of pathetic.

Even though Acciona have pronouced their ill-considered Industrial Wind Plant dead, the work of the MLG will continue. In particular, we will be active in contributing to the development of the Palerang Local Environment Plan (LEP) to ensure that the ridgelines are kept clear of inappropriate development, such as Industrial Wind Plants.

The MLG will continue to support other like-minded communities who are faced with unwanted industrial wind installations in their neighbourhoods. The MLG will also continue to lobby government for sensible guidelines for the siting of industrial wind turbines and a process that gives local communities a real say in decisions.

"Windmills, we all know, don't work"

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 14:42:40 GMT

Strange goings-on in the wind industry. Earlier this month, a German company trumpetted plans to build a 500 turbine wind farm in far west of NSW. The company simultaneously announced that the project was already in "jeopardy" unless – of course – Federal and State governments increase subsidies to the wind industry.

How could a project be in jeopardy before it even starts? Why is the same project announced with all the accompanying media hoopla when the company proposing it has not even gathered a full year's worth of wind monitoring?

In an article published in The Canberra Times, Simon Grose examines how the spin and promises of the renewable energy industry, and in particular the wind industry, fail to live up to reality.

The article also quotes a renewable energy industry insider who confirms that wind turbines "don't work" due to the variablity of output but are popular with Governments who seek to convince the voting public of their green credentials.

MLG submission to Federal Parliamentary Inquiry now available on Parliament website

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:10:41

The Molonglo Landscape Guardians' submission to House of Representatives Standing Committee on Industry and Resources inquiry into Renewable Energy has been published on the Parliament's website.

Molonglo left in limbo: No news yet on wind farm

Sun, 23 Jul 2007 13:00:00 GMT

It has been a year since Acciona Energy announced that their plans for the Molonglo Ridge wind farm proposal were "postponed". Yet the community that will bear the brunt of the wind-farm's impacts is still waiting for any news from Acciona about their plans.

A report in The Canberra Times highlights community concerns about Acciona's non-communication of their plans for the site.