Strathbogie landholders unhappy with wind farm

The survey was conducted by the Strathbogies Responsible Renewables Community Group, which has been running residents’ meetings.

Of the 200 respondents to the survey, 83 per cent objected and six per cent supported the project.

Fera Austrlia proposes the building of a 600-megawatt wind farm, capable of providing power for the equivalent of 430,000 homes.

The wind farm investigation area is bound by Avenel, Longwood, Ruffy, Highlands and Tarcombe.

With a small overlap, the transmission line investigation area spans toward the 330kV transmission line in the south-east.

According to the company, this area was selected based on its strong wind resource and its proximity to the main transmission line between Melbourne and Sydney.

Survey respondents who were against against the project remarked on the impacts on the landscape, roadsides and biodiversity including threatened species of flora and fauna, visual impacts and concerns about how the infrastructure would be decommissioned.

Most respondents found out about the project by word of mouth, with only seven per cent saying they had contact from Fera Australia.

The top three localities in terms of number of respondents were Highlands (23 per cent of respondents), Ruffy (12 per cent) and Terip Terip (12 per cent).

The majority had relatively small landholdings, indicating a high proportion of lifestyle properties in the region.

Those in favour of the project remarked on the need for renewable energy sources, the prevalence of the ‘not in my backyard’ principle, and believed the concerns were unfounded.

The Strathbogie group was formed by the community in May 2022 after Fera’s proposal became publicly known.

The group is now opposed to the development as it considers it inappropriate for this location.