Starfish Enterprises Network

 

Feasibility Study Finalised
The New England Tablelands Community Wind Farm Pre-Feasibility Study is complete and has confirmed that there is very strong support for the establishment of a community wind farm. This finding reflects the overwhelming view from 1,300 community members and key stakeholders who participated in the survey, planning forums and meetings.

The Study identifies the key design principles and requirements for the community wind farm to ensure that the goals and requirements identified by the community and stakeholders will be incorporated into the community wind farm itself.

The Study recommends that a 16MW wind farm, of eight 2MW turbines or equivalent, be established ~ which will be Australia's first large-scale community wind farm.

This will produce as much electricity as used by half of all the homes in the New England Tablelands. $30m capital will be required, averaging about $4,000 per dwelling covered.

Quick Poll Results

82 people responded to the Quick Poll seeking feedback on the preliminary findings of the Study. Answers to the question "How comfortable are you with the proposed size of wind farm"are measured below:

KEY: 50 = About Right, 100 = Too Small, 0 = Too Big

There were many who responded challenging us to consider an even bigger wind farm, though there were a few who questioned whether it was too ambitious. It seems that the proposed size is probably about right. It will of course be subject to a range of other variables too, like the capability of the electricity grid to take the power, so we have some work ahead of us yet before exact numbers will be known.

The other question we polled was regarding the proposed 'blended' or 'hybrid' legal structure? The average rating of 70/100 (with 50/100 being comfortable, 100/100 being very comfortable and 0/100 being very uncomfortable) indicates again we are in the zone.

Comments made stressed the importance for strong, majority local ownership and decision-making with clear anti-takeover provisions. The other theme which came through strongly was the importance of the right professional people to lead and run the wind farm.

Thank you very much to everyone who made the time to input into the Quick Poll. Your views have been added to the wealth of understanding we are building about our community's desires and requirements for the wind farm.

Site Analysis
Nearly 120 landholders expressed interest in being considered to host turbines for the community wind farm.

Work is now under way to assess these sites against the design principles and requirements identified in the Study. At this stage we believe that more than one dozen sites will satisfy the high standards set by the community as well as those required for a successful wind power operation (such as good wind and electricity grid access).

As specified in the Study Findings, a community decision making process will be used for the choice of actual site. The focus at the moment is to assess the different sites and gather key facts and figures to inform this decision making process.

Final Feasibility Study Reports
The Final Feasibility Study Reports are now available via New England Wind on scribd:

• Final Report ~ New England Tablelands Community Wind Farm Feasibility Study
  
• Attachments
• Community Renewable Energy Research Report, Community Power Agency
• Survey Findings
• Example Planning Forum Presentation ~ Glen Innes Community Forum
• Participatory Planning Forums Analysis
• Governance Models Options Analysis
• Co-operative Structures, Environmental Defender’s Office (Northern Rivers)
• Hybrid Legal Structures, Wilson & Co Lawyers
• Hepburn Wind Investor Profile, Nicky Ison

Digital Stories
Five digital stories have been published to enrich the formal written reporting for the Feasibility Study. Each story reflects different parts of the community planning process, findings and recommendations as follows:

1. Key Proposals ~ the size and structure
2. Key Principles ~ the design of the community farm farm
3. The difference between profit-making & a community wind farm
4. A summary of all the community planning forums
5. A dedicated story on the Glen Innes Forum

Next Steps ~ Public Launch & Beyond
The Public Launch of the Feasibility Study will be on Saturday 22 October as part of this year's Sustainable Living Expo. More details will be provided closer to the time.

Moving forwards, our priorities now are threefold:

1. Continuing to build community involvement, understanding and support. In this respect we would appreciate your assistance passing this eNEWs to others you know who may be interested;
2. Seeking seed funding for the next stages of work, particularly the establishment of the legal and governance structure and wind monitoring for the best site; and,
3. Analysis of the sites as detailed above;

Thank You, Funders, Consortium & Partners
At this point we would especially like to thank the organisations who contributed funds to enable this important Phase¹ of work on a New England Community Wind Farm:

• NSW Government Departments of Fair Trading and Office of Environment & Heritage (previously Department of Environment Climate Change & Water);
• The Community Mutual Group;
• Farming the Sun community solar enterprise; and,
• Sustainable Living Armidale.

We would also like to thank our Partners who contributed considerable expertise and time through specialist research, advice and involvement on the Consortium which steered this project:

• Environmental Defenders Office, Northern Rivers;
• Wilson & Co Lawyers;
• Community Power Agency;
• Southern New England Landcare & the High Country Biodiversity Project;
• The University of New England; and,
• Armidale & District Chamber of Commerce.

And thank you to YOU. We believe that the level of involvement with this Feasibiltiy Study probably sets a new benchmark in participatory community planning. With more than 1,300 direct participants it is one of the most comprehensive community energy projects on earth. Your support and investment of time is an invaluable and critical ingredient to our shared success with this initiative.

Get More Involved & Up to Date

Join New England Wind on Facebook. With 40-50 views per day on average our Facebook Page is where the most regular updates, news & discussions take place.

Join in!!

Speak Your Mind About Wind Power Development Policy
It's a perilous time for renewable energy in Australia. In NSW and Victoria, state premiers Barry O'Farrell and Ted Baillieu are taking the axe to solar feed in tariffs and declaring war on the wind industry.

Can you take two minutes to join us in telling Barry and Ted that this is just not on? Click here for more details and a simple online letter writing tool thanks to the 100% Renewable Energy community campaign.
--

New England Wind is a partnered initiative of Starfish Enterprises Network
www.starfishenterprises.net