Wind power impacts on our community

A reliable power supply throughout rural and urban Victoria has been the aim of many governments over the years.

The current Victorian Government has clearly stated a commitment to facilitating the development of sustainable, secure and affordable energy for all Victorians and has published guidelines dealing with planning wind energy facilities.

But these developments are not being pursued at any cost. Large areas of coastal land are protected from wind farm development. Many of the most significant landscapes on the coast are designated as National Parks which means that 43 % of the length of Victoria's coastline and 32 % of land within a kilometer of the coast are fully protected.
Critical environmental values are also protected by Commonwealth and Victorian legislation, including the Commonwealth Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Act and the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act.

Each individual site have to pass independent study and assessment on a number of issues including flora, fauna and aboriginal heritage matters as well as taking account of submissions from local residents and planning authorities.
Issues such as residential amenity and visual impact are all considered during the application process.

Most wind farms proposals are required to complete Environmental Effects Statements which assess potential impacts and provide the community with opportunities to make comments and submissions. An Environmental Effects Statement is currently beening prepared for the Wonthaggi Wind Farm and will be on public exhibition for six weeks when completed.
As the Victorian economy grows, electricity consumption is projected to increase by over 15% in the next eight years. Although fossil fuels will remain a cornerstone of energy production in this state, increased production from renewable sources is part of a balanced energy strategy embraced by all political parties.

In addition to meeting future energy needs, power generated by wind turbines and other renewable sources of energy will reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

The Government has recognized that a 10 MW wind energy facility will displace about 40,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each year making wind energy an increasingly attractive form of renewable energy development.

The efficiency of wind turbines has also improved substantially. In the United States advances in turbine design have reduced electricity costs from 38¢ per kilowatt-hour in the early 1980s to less than 4¢ at prime wind sites. Further cuts are expected.

And it's not just America leading the way. Two years ago France announced plans to develop 5,000 megawatts of wind power by 2010 - enough electricity to supply almost two million homes. Argentina followed with a plan to develop 3,000 megawatts of wind power by 2010 in Patagonia. In April last year, the United Kingdom accepted offshore bids to develop 1,500 megawatts of wind power. And in May, China announced it would develop some 2,500 megawatts of wind power by 2005. For the first nine months of 2002, Europe's installed wind energy capacity reached 20,447MW (Megawatts. This is a 40% increase of European wind energy capacity over the last 12 months. Australia has only 103MW currently installed.

Wind Power Pty Ltd

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