After visiting Central Queensland Nationals leader David Littleproud has raised concerns about impacts of renewable energy projects on farming areas, the environment and communities in the region.
Chopping down thousands of hectares of native bushland and pristine farmland for the projects was senseless Mr Littleproud said, after meeting with Federal Member for Flynn, Colin Boyce, and Federal Member for Capricornia, Michelle Landry, and local Kalapa graziers in central Queensland.
Sixth-generation beef grazier Glen Kelly said the planned 10,910-hectare Moah wind farm project, 30 kilometres west of Rockhampton, along with other nearby projects including the Clarke Creek, Mt Hopeful and Boulder Creek, would involve extensive clearing of land, much of which has never been touched, on steep mountain ranges.
“We are facing the fight of our lives, and we’re doing it for our next generation who are the ones who will be left to clean up the mess,” Mr Kelly said.
“We have no say on this project as there is no compulsory public consultation phase in wind farm development applications. We feel like the guinea pigs – the Moah Creek turbines will be up to 275 metres to the blade tip, sitting on mountains up to 400 metres tall.
“They will also need to flatten these mountain ridges for the wind blades and cranes – the environmental damage will be enormous, not to mention the soil erosion and its risk to the Great Barrier Reef.”
Federal Member for Flynn, Colin Boyce, said the renewable energy sector was proposing huge infrastructure projects to meet the Federal Government’s 82 per cent renewable energy target by 2030.
“This target involves 22,000 solar panels every day between now and 2030, 40 wind turbines every month between now and 2030 and a proposal to build 28,000 kilometres of high voltage power lines to connect renewables to the grid,” Mr Boyce said.
“These projects are now seen to be having an enormous impact particularly in rural and regional Queensland which I outlined in my maiden speech around 12 months ago.
“The environmental damage that will be caused, the fact the renewable sector does not have to comply with any current regulations in Queensland including tree clearing guidelines, reef legislation or environmental protocols that have been imposed on every other industry.
“This is simply outrageous. It’s time the Queensland Government implement legislation around the renewable energy sector that will apply governance over the renewable sector regarding how these projects are getting built and their impact on the farming sector and more broadly rural and regional communities.”
Mr Littleproud also drew attention to another project in the Eungella and Pioneer Valley which he says is set to be flooded under Queensland Government plans to build the ‘world’s biggest hydro project’.
Mr Littleproud and Ms Landry toured grazing properties set to be affected by the five-gigawatt, large-scale, long-duration Pioneer-Burdekin Pumped Hydro Energy Storage (PHES).
The project’s estimated construction cost is $12 billion, with the State Labor Government pushing the Federal Labor Government to fund it, Mr Littleproud said.
With 79 properties expected to be affected, Ms Landry said families were reaching breaking point.
“I have met with families who have broken down in tears and asked me what do they do with their lives if they’re forced off their land. Many of the properties have been in their family for generations. It’s heartbreaking.”
She said Eungella, best known for its pristine rainforests and platypus which inhabit the rivers and creeks, will be inundated with two dams forming the top reservoirs. At the bottom of the Eungella range, a 60-metre-high dam wall will be constructed to allow the prime farming land to go under for the lower dam. Furthermore, the energy required to power the hydro plant will require wind turbines and a solar field to be built, to assist in the function of the dams to create energy.
Mr Littleproud said the community felt helpless.
“It is senseless to destroy prime agriculture land and rainforest in this special part of Queensland. I urge Labor to listen to locals and to scrutinise this project properly, before it’s too late.”
Source: Federal Leader of The Nationals
There is no doubt that the Nuclear option is the best option by far. The Small Nuclear Reactors are efficient, clean and have been adopted by many countries around the world. Well done Peter Dutton bringing it up in his Budget reply. We, in the path of the Snowy2 power lines, are faced with the same problems, little say in the giant pylons they are proposing to erect across our pristine and beautiful countryside and State forests, bringing huge fire danger and turning us into an industrial area in which no one would care to live. continue our fight for us!
Yes, it is all a giant ponzi scheme, the next boondoggle to hand money to mostly foreign-owned ‘developers’ (sic), at taxpayer subsidised expense. The Great Dividing Range will be desecrated from one end to the other, all in the name of ‘climate change’. Consuming more resources to produce less power is not going to save the planet – these people don’t know the 1st Law of thermodynamics, let alone the 2nd. We are arbitrarily within a REZ and facing 370x250m wind turbines plus powerlines in our immediate district. Only 9 people voted for the Greens in our local booth last State election, and the Parliament that passed the REZ legislation and the Minister pushing it have now been voted out – surely this is indicates that their policies and legislation were not appreciated by the people, and should be rescinded? In 2022 the AEMO data showed turbines produced on average only 29% of nameplate capacity, solar farms less than 20%. These immensely inefficient and unproductive projects must be stopped before they do irreversible damage to productive farmland, the food supply and the natural environment, which the proponents and Government profess to be protecting.
Can someone please explain to me and everyone and I mean everyone I talk to how ruining possibly the greatest food production country in the world which one day will be vital to the world’s food source to install so called green energy which will make barely make a dent in the problem. Sure do our bit but dying of starvation is not nice either.
Total Rubbish from the fossil fuel industry!
Where do you live Ian? I live in a pristine part of central west NSW that will soon become an industrial zone with the construction of the largest wind farm in NSW. Largest in terms of turbine size and number of turbines. This is not rubbish, this is real. The land clearing of critically endangered ecological communities is irreversible and the developers (usually 100% foreign owned) merely buy some biodiversity credits to offset the permanent damage.
If the lies about CO2 damage to the environment is not enough, the scenario that destruction of rainforest and bushland is good for the world is incomprehensible. Then there is the destruction of livelihoods, homes and farms. Where does this all end? This government, together with all like-minded politicians should be imprisoned and all assets be confiscated. They do not represent the people or do what is good for the people. Very soon they will all be brought to justice. They cannot plead for mercy when they have shown none. Their gods of power and money will not help them, nor will their partners in crime, the WEF and the UN. May God, the real God, have mercy on them.
Last week millions of Australians watched the coronation of King Charles III because it was a major historical event, even though some Australians are not enthusiastic about the Royal Family. What is reported here is also an historical event, even though some Australians are not enthusiastic about the hypocracy.
For the latter, enduring the pain, it is unfortunately of no current consolation that (to borrow the term) the chickens will eventually come home to roost. Eventually, evironmental comparisions between clearing land for food production as opposed to clearing land for solar farms and turbines, will be evaluated on both economic and on emission production grounds. However, to be totally indicative, that has to happen simultaneously under the same umbrella with a natural food versus synthetic food environmental comparison and (baseload reliability aside), a fully wind/solar energy system versus a low/zero emissions (nuclear??) energy system. comparison.
While the chances of a green/left-leaning government allowing this to happen are slim, those chances will not be improved by silence and inaction.
The same issues apply in the tablelands and good farming country in NSW.
The overall planning from the State and Federal Governments is woefully destructive and has repeatedly shown the lack of regional knowledge shown by politicians, department directors, planning staff and in particular foreign proponents of the solar plants and wind towers, many of whom are foreigners and survey Australia with satellite images.
The NSW Liberal Minister Kean was a disaster and we can only hope the new government can take the time to see the much cheaper and less damaging options provided by very undeveloped and sparsely inhabited western areas of the Sate.
Why is it that the “green” billionaires such as Forest can’t adapt the concept suggested for Singapore and run lines into the existing grids from the near desert country?
Only direct farmer objections such as those shown in Holland recently will bring the problem out in public because the left leaning media can’t see anything but their own dreamy words.
We have fought to save the Liverpool Plains from destructive industries such as coal and CSG. These industries are only interested in short term outcomes with no genuine interest in the environment and communities they destroy. I’m a believer in the move to renewables, but not at the cost of the environment. This is an oxymoron.
Renewable energy is getting an easy ride from environment bureaucrats. Government must stop supporting double standards.
This is devastating small communities all over the country. The government should revisit its numbers and ambitions to transition the countries energy supply from 85% renewables. It simply won’t work we need a balance of coal, nuclear wind solar and hydro.
Our little town of walcha on the northern tablelands of nsw sits on some of the states most productive grazing land surrounded by world heritage national parks.
A Sydney based sales team on selling to overseas multinationals is proposing 560 wind turbines 3400megawatts and 4million solar panels.
We have one road in and out
Please visit voiceforwalcha for more information
Kind regards