NSW government reps met in Armidale with locals impacted by renewable energy projects

NSW Department of Planning and Environment DPE's Felicity Greenway and Energyco's Mike Young listened to concerns raised by about 12 local groups from across the New England region at the Armidale Golf Club on Tuesday.

"What I've heard today is that the department isn't pushing back enough," Greenway said to the room full of people.

"And that you've been seeing too much ticking and flicking of the projects. That we don't scrutinise the projects closely enough."

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The NSW government introduced legislation in 2020 that established five Renewable Energy Zones REZs across the state where publicly-owned transmission lines that transfer power from renewable energy plants to homes would be built.

This gives renewable energy companies, such as the Dutch-based multinational company Vestas and others, the incentive to build turbines, solar or hydro plants in the area.

However, locals are angry and frustrated with the state government and renewable energy developers over what they say is a lack of transparency and visibility in consulting with people living in the region.

Many say they have to search out the information often found in websites, pamphlets or in community talks to get an idea of what is really going on in renewable energy projects planned for their neighbourhoods.

Energyco's executive director Mike Young outlined the role of his department, saying they deal mainly with the coordination of building transmission lines and setting legislation in relation to the renewable energy projects.

"We are not in the business of developing renewable energy projects, we still rely on investment and private developers to work to generate the electricity that we need," Young said.

And the DPE is tasked with overseeing the regulation and compliance, assessing developments, setting rules for how development occurs across the state and implementing government policies, Ms Greenway said.

"I'm here to serve you to the best of my ability and to serve the government of the day," the executive director of DPE's state policy and strategic advice said.

In addressing concerns, Greenway said the DPE will be piloting a study using quantity surveyors to find out how much it would cost to decommission renewable energy projects at the end of their lifespan.

"The department is responsible for these projects while they do the operating, so it's not a matter of setting and forgetting, walking away once consent is granted to these projects," she said.

Without proper protections in place, neighbours have been worried about major developers leaving locals to foot the massive decommissioning bill once the life of the renewable energy project is over.

Chief among other concerns raised during the meeting, include establishing legislation, not guidelines, to determine boundaries from wind, hydro and solar projects in relation to homes, schools, towns, and roads.

And in response to a request to have transmission lines laid underground along railway lines, Mr Young said it would cost taxpayers five to ten times more.

"The sorts of energy demands that we need in order to decarbonize completely by 2050 are enormous," Mr Young said.

On August 31, the Albanese government passed the Climate Change Bills into legislation, setting a 43 per cent emissions reduction target and net zero emissions by 2050.

Others at the meeting expressed concerns about native flora and wildlife, including koalas, platypus and the near-endangered Bells Turtle which is endemic to the New England region, being impacted by construction of the renewable energy projects.

Local group RED4NE's John Peatfield said they are not against renewable energy but they want more transparency and accountability from the government and developers.

"We got our message across today that there is a lack of social license, a lack of planning and a lot of very unhappy people out there and that we feel isolated and without help from government or government agencies," Mr Peatfield said.

"We received a very defensive response, and to most of the questions, in terms of studies and planning, that 'it's not there but they're working on it', which invites the reply 'why can't we have a moratorium until they work out the ground rules?'."

Walcha-based local and Dunghutti woman Shannon Green said Vestas, owner of Winterbourne Windfarm, had not consulted with the local Aboriginal group, saying a previous report mislabelled their traditional land as Anaiwan.

"We are not Anaiwan, we are Dunghutti," she said.

Green said that when she raised the issue that Vestas had done no community consultation with the local Indigenous Australian group, they received a response that stated the Registered Aboriginal Parties RAPs had been contacted.

"Which is another thing we are being told we need to be, to be able to talk about who we are," she said.

"It is really demeaning and maddening to think that, in this day and age, I have to do something else to tell them to stop telling me that I am Anaiwan. I am Dunghutti."

Green said she found out about the Winterbourne Windfarm when an ad was placed in a local newspaper, giving people a "final say" on the 119 wind turbine project.

"Final say? We haven't had any say!" she said.

Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall was also at the meeting, and later successfully requested a five-week extension so people in the Walcha community could have longer than 28 days to read and analyse the Winterbourne Windfarm's massive Environmental Impact Statement EIS.

The New England Renewable Energy Zone is one of five REZs being planned across the state, including the Central-West Orana, South-West, Hunter-Central Coast and Illawarra.

Of the three already officially announced, the New England REZ will have the highest density of transmission lines and renewable energy projects in relation to population in order to generate 8 gigawatts of power in comparison to Central-West Orana at 2.5 gigawatts and South-West at 3 gigawatts.

The New England REZ is expected to boost the regional economy with a $10.7 billion investment from the private sector and support 830 operational and 1250 construction jobs.

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