Australian Wind Alliance is calling on the nation’s first wind farm commissioner to play a straight bat in disseminating facts about the polarising power source.
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Alliance national coordinator Andrew Bray said it could be difficult for communities to access reliable information about wind turbines. Mr Bray hoped the commissioner would help more communities understand and accept wind farm projects in regional Australia.
“He needs to be guided by the best available science, which has demonstrated so far wind turbines do not create (health or environment) problems," Mr Bray said. “Functionally, now he is there, the commissioner can play a role in increasing transparency in the operation of wind farms, find a resolution to complaints, then finalise these issues.”
The Turnbull government announced on Friday that former telecommunications watchdog Andrew Dyer would take up the commissioner role for three years.
The government agreed to put in place a commissioner and panel as part of a deal with anti-wind farm crossbench senators. Mr Bray said the move was unnecessary due to existing research work and monitoring, including that of state ombudsmen and regulatory bodies, in providing reliable information. He said the move was a hangover from the Abbott government, and one the Alliance had repeatedly called on the Turnbull government to scrap.
But now a commissioner was in place, Mr Bray said the role could be useful in ensuring the fair financial and local job distribution and benefits from wind farms in communities.
The wind commissioner has been tasked with resolving and referring complaints to other authorities to address. He will also identify priorities for monitoring wind farms and report to Parliament once a year but cannot alter the construction or operation of wind farms.
There is heated debate in some parts of rural Australia about wind farms and the potential impacts on health and the environment from the sound they generate. Numerous reviews by state and federal government health bodies have so far found no clear evidence of a link between wind farms and medical conditions.
The wind farm commissioner has a background in renewable energy, including his former role as director of US-based BrightSource Energy, which develops solar thermal technology.
- with The Age