A community meeting in Nanneella on Monday, July 1, heard the Fera Australia energy company outline its proposal for up to 25 turbines near Nanneella, and a further 25 south-west of Rushworth.
The half-billion dollar proposal was met with scepticism by many at the meeting, and a few declared their outright opposition.
Fera Australia director Andrew Lawson said there were two types of agreements open to landowners who hosted the turbines.
A leasing agreement would return around $30,000 to $40,000 per turbine annually to the property owner, depending on the wind and power generated and some other factors.
“To put a transmission line on your property, there’s an annual payment of $10,000 per kilometre, which is made each year, and that’s indexed,” Mr Lawson said.
“We also pay if there’s any lowering of valuation of your property by having a valuation before there’s any infrastructure and then assessing what would happen if the infrastructure is there and we pay at construction 150 per cent mark-up on that, so, we're trying to make sure it’s a generous offer for people.
“If you live close to, but you don't have the infrastructure on your site, up to three kilometres, you get a $15,000 payment ... and then one to two thousand dollars of subsidised energy each year if you live within five kilometres of the infrastructure.”
Fera Australia would also offer to contribute to community development projects in the surrounding area.
The district has been buzzing with rumours since the company representatives visited the district and set up a mobile data collection trailer.
Some people expressed surprise that there would be enough wind to drive the turbines, but Fera representatives said they would be collecting more data in the future.
Victorian Nationals leader and State Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh said he believed there must be better locations in Victoria, and Australia, for a wind farm of this size than in such a closely settled, prime irrigation district.
Mr Walsh said while no-one doubts the long-term need for renewable sources of energy in the overall mix to keep the state’s lights on and businesses and factories working, at this stage there needs to be a more considered approach as to where these facilities are sited.
“I would have thought the number of people who attended the Nanneella meeting this week, and the suggestions they offered, would have confirmed this site may not be the place for such a project,” he said.
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