By Jeremy Sollars
A development application for the largest onshore wind farm in Australia – proposed for land straddling both the Southern Downs and Goondiwindi council areas – is still being assessed by the Queensland Government, which this week reiterated the Darling Downs is a key ‘renewable energy zone’ for the state.
Spanish-owned global renewable energy developer Acciona lodged its development application with the government in late October, seeking approval to develop the ‘MacIntyre Wind Farm’ across 40,000 of land the company is leasing from private landholders.
The wind farm would consist of 120 turbines with a ‘wing-tip height’ of 25 metres, with around 20 of the turbines to be operated by government-owned energy provider CleanCo.
The land proposed for the development is in the Cement Mills, Pikedale and Goldfields areas, with the main portion within the Goondiwindi Regional Council area.
A new powerline to carry electricity generated from the wind farm to the Millmerran power station would run through the Karara and Leyburn districts, with the Durikai State Forest forming a ‘buffer zone’ along the northern extent of the wind farm.
The Queensland Government decides wind farm applications and local councils have no formal say in the process. The agency in charge of assessments is the State Assessment and Referral Agency (SARA), an arm of the powerful Department of State Development.
Documents available on the SARA website show the agency has asked Acciona for more information on how surveys of ‘bird and bat’ species in the proposed development area will be conducted, and more details on projected noise levels generated by the wind turbines.
A formal ‘Information Request’ issued by SARA to Acciona on Thursday 26 November of this year states that ‘background noise monitoring has not been conducted (by Acciona) to inform the provided acoustic assessment”.
“As a result, it has not been demonstrated that predicted noise levels at sensitive receptors reasonably achieve the criteria” set by the government’s ‘Wind Farm Code’.
Acciona has been given until Friday 26 February next year to respond on those points.
Wildlife surveys…
Ecological assessments of the lands within the project area – carried out by consultants commissioned by Acciona – have identified 125 “fauna species”, including six species of amphibians, and 10 reptile, 25 mammal and 84 bird species.
Experts also identified the ‘calls’ of 11 species of ‘micro-bats’.
Two bird species listed as ‘Critically Endangered’ under Federal biodiversity legislation are termed as ‘Likely’ to be present on the subject lands – the Regent Honeyeater and the Swift Parrot.
A further two bird species federally-listed as ‘Vulnerable’ are also deemed ‘Likely’ to live in habitats on the site, the Squatter Pigeon and the Painted Honeyeater.
The ecological reports list Koalas and Short-beaked Echidnas as ‘Present’.
Pest mammals recorded included rabbits, feral pigs, wild dogs and red deer.
