The proposed Winterbourne Wind Farm at Walcha has returned to the exhibition stage in the planning process, with submissions open on an amended proposal until 4th November, 2024.
The wind farm has been declared a State Significant Development by the NSW Government, will be situated 6.5km outside the town, and consist of up to 118 turbines, with a maximum blade tip height of 230 metres and generating up to 750MW of renewable energy.
The farm would also pay up to $750,000 into a Community Benefit Fund.
The project has not been without contention, with some locals critical of the farm’s potential impact on the environment and the scenery, and others welcoming the income it would bring and a chance to counteract climate change.
However, of the 832 submissions on the project’s environmental impact statement were received, only 332 were against, but still more than enough to trigger an automatic review into the wind farm early last year.
The Voluntary Planning Agreement for the project was approved by Walcha Shire Council earlier this year, with Mayor Eric Noakes calling it “the most testing thing that’s come before this Council.”
So far, the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, Paul Scully, has not called for a public hearing.
The key changes in the Amended Project are:
- Reconfiguration of the Project layout including relocation of 21 turbines more than 100 metres, micro-siting of 52 turbines than were moved less than 100, removal of 2 and addition of 1 turbine;
- Changes to the Project Area with removal of 13 land parcels and addition of 2 land parcels;
- Realignment of site access locations and internal access tracks, and electrical reticulation;
- Relocation of both substations, the O&M facility, construction compound, BESS and laydown areas;
- Construction of on-site quarry to supply gravel, aggregates and potentially bedding material required for Project construction; and
- Inclusion of a new transport route to avoid Oxley Highway for inbound oversize and overmass (OSOM) vehicles.
Submissions for the project can be made at the project page on the NSW Planning Portal,
For more help with submissions, contact Service NSW on 1300 305 695.
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