A wind farm along the Western Highway, with some of the tallest turbines in the country, is still waiting for ministerial approval.
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Seven turbines have been planned for Brewster Wind Farm, about 10 kilometres east of Beaufort, that have a total turbine height of 250 metres.
This compares to total turbine height of about 130 metres at Waubra and almost twice the height of the small windfarm at nearby Chepstowe.
The farm proposal has been put forward by RE Futures which is also working through planning applications for a 10-turbine farm in the state's south-west.
Planning applications for the seven-turbine Brewster Wind Farm were first put on public display at the start of 2022.
Other approved onshore-wind projects have planned comparable heights for turbines including the Golden Plains farm at Rokewood, with turbines heights reaching up to 230 metres at the top blade tip.
Submissions for the Brewster proposal were originally set to close at the end of February.
However, the Pyrenees Shire Council was able to secure an extension to the deadline after residents expressed concerns about the small amount of time to make a submission.
The council has put forward a submission during the allocated time during the first quarter of 2022, outlining residents' concerns with the farm.
At the time, residents had concerns about the potential noise, environmental and visual impacts of the farm.
The shire was also concerned about the impact on the development the farm could have on council-managed roads.
RE Future would have to pay for any damage to local roads as a result of increased traffic in the area related to the wind farm.
In their traffic impact assessment, they outline the route the wind turbines would take from Portland which would mostly use roads approved for oversized vehicles.
They also anticipated other construction materials such as crushed rock and concrete would come from Beaufort or Ballarat via the Western Highway.
The total turbine height is expected to be approximately 250 metres.
There are three other farms within 20km of Brewster.
This includes Waubra Wind Farm which has 128 wind turbines about 120 metres high and was completed in 2009.
Stockyard Wind Farm, 10km south-west from Brewster, with 149 turbines about 180 metres was completed in 2021 and Chepstowe Wind Farm was completed in 2015 with turbines up to 126 metres in total height.
The Brewster farm is expected to have a total combined capacity of up to 42 megawatts.
A 66kV transmission line already runs along the Western Highway.
Plans in the application include preliminary designs for a substation which would be used to connect into the existing transmission line.
While the submissions to the state government about the farm are still closed, the Pyrenees Shire is making a last minute addition.
At their Tuesday night meeting councillors will decide if they want to write additional concerns raised by residents and landowners in the area to the planning minister.
The April agenda states that if council is able to provide the planning minster with new information or concerns, "it is understood that the minister will reasonably consider any relevant matters prior to deciding on the application".
Residents are concerned the total number of brolgas (Australian cranes) "have not been given adequate consideration".
RE Future anticipated it could take more than a year for the Minister for Planning to respond to the application.
If the planning applications are approved, construction of the farm is anticipated to also take about a year.
The Pyrenees Shire councillors will meet for their monthly ordinary meting on today at 6pm in Avoca.
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