Visual Impact

The 125 meter towers placed on the ridgelines will be highly visible over a huge area. Download the visibility map (PDF 82 Kb) to see which parts of the ACT and surrounds will be impacted.

As the wind-plant is under the flight path to Canberra Airport, at night many of the towers will support red, flashing aircraft warning lights. The dark nights, so valued by locals will be spoiled by this visual intrusion. The wind farm will be visible 24 hours a day.

Windmill or Windscraper – how big is a turbine?

Many people have seen the nearby Crookwell wind installation on the Southern Highlands, and leave thinking that the turbines they see there are "not too bad".

It is not particularly useful to compare the Crookwell wind installation to the proposed industrial power plant on the Molonglo Ridge. There are a number of important differences to bear in mind.

Size does matter

With only 8 turbines, Crookwell is a seventh of the of the size of the Molonglo Ridge proposal and the 60 metre towers are half the size of the windscrapers planned for our neighbourhood. The image at left provides a graphic illustration of the size comparison between the Crookwell turbines and those planned for the Molonglo Ridge. Click here or on the image for a full screen view.

At 125 metres (40 storeys) it is more appropriate to refer to these industrial machines as windscrapers. Compare the size of the windscrapers planned for Molonglo Ridge with other objects in the rural landscape.

Position! Position! Position!

Another stark difference is that the Crookwell wind installation is positioned on undulating land, not a prominent ridgeline that can be seen from Queanbeyan and many parts of Canberra. This map (PDF 82 kb) shows extensive area from where the wind turbines will be visible. The positioning of turbines on ridgelines also has a impact on the amount and volume of turbine noise that will be experienced by neighbours. Development on prominent ridgelines – which includes sixty 40-storey structures – contravenes Local Planning regulations (Local Environment Plan, Palerang Council).

Unlike the proposal for the Molonglo Ridge, the Crookwell wind installation is not located next to significant wildlife habitat, heritage listed scenery and Canberra's major water storage dam as shown in this map (PDF 187 kb).

Visual intrusion of the turbines
The illustrations at left demonstrate how visually imposing the turbines will be on the landscape. As a comparison, the dimensions of the wind turbines are measured against other large landmarks and objects. Remember: EHN are planning to build 60 of these turbines on the Molonglo Ridges. At a span of 70 metres, tip to tip, the turbine blades are over 10 metres wider than the wingspan of a Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet. The nacelle – the section of the wind turbine that houses the electricity-generating equipment – is the size of a bus.
The top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge is 120 metres above the sea. At a combined height of 120 metres, one of the wind turbines proposed for the Molonglo Ridge is the same height as the top of the bridge.
At a combined height of 120 metres, the turbines proposed for the Molonglo Ridge will be 75% of the height of the Telstra Tower at Black Mountain. The Telstra Tower is one of the most visually imposing structures on the Canberra skyline, visible from many parts of Canberrra and Queanbeyan. Imagine the impact of 60 of these structures on the landscape.

Why do the turbines have to go on the top of hills?

The ACT and surrounds are not in a high wind area (SEDA Wind Atlas), the towers must be placed on the tops of ridges, and must be about twice the height of towers erected at other wind-plants in the south east, in order to catch the available wind. For comparison, the towers at the Crookwell wind-plant are 40 metres high with 15 metre blades.

EHN have approached individual land holders and suggested that the visual impact of the turbines can be negated by planting trees to screen out the turbines. In other words, local land holders can lose their view altogether! Australia Wind Energy Association (AUSWea) and the National Trust recently produced draft guidelines for the siting of windfarms. These guidelines state that:

For some values, for example a particular location of high biological significance, avoidance may be the only acceptable way to protect a value. For example from a scenery / character perspective, it is virtually impossible to hide or screen wind farm (Birke-Neilsen, 1996). Given the height of the development, vegetative screening is only of use when located to screen views from a viewpoint, rather than to a tower (Smith, 2003). (Wind farms and Landscape Values: Stage 1 Final Report, Commonwealth of Australia, 2005, p 50).

The placement of wind turbines on top of prominent ridgelines contravenes both Local Planning regulations (Local Environment Plan, Palerang Council) and the NSW Government's Wind farm Guidelines which states that wind farms should not be constructed on ridges or near towns and villages.

Below: A photo montage of a part of the windfarm from a private home in Burra. The turbines dominate the unspoilt, wooded ridgeline above the Googong Dam and the heritage listed London Bridge Homestead. How many trees, at what height and growing rate would be required to "screen out" this view?

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