A wind farm and battery storage project proposed for development by Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Group in the eastern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia has reportedly been knocked back by planning authorities over its impact on the operations and safety of a nearby airfield.
The project proposes to install up to 10 wind turbines and up to 10MWh of battery storage on land around 12km south-east of the Yilgarn Shire town of Southern Cross.
Before being bought by Fortescue, Southern Cross Wind was originally set up by Yilgarn Holdings – a local outfit “operated by a small group of seasoned wind industry professionals” – on a local family’s farm, with a 25-year lease over the turbine sites.
The project’s application for development approval says it would be connected to WA’s main grid, the South West Interconnected System (SWIS), providing power for local and regional consumption while also strengthening the local network and reducing the number of unplanned outages.
The application also notes that the several mining exploration licences are pending or have been granted on or adjacent to the project
area to exploration companies, offering the opportunity for “future energy synergies” if those exploration prospects mature further.
However the project’s turbines – at a maximum height of 240m – would also be close to the Southern Cross Aerodrome, raising concerns about the “safe, secure and continued operation” of the airfield.
According to the council website, the dual runway aerodrome is located around 3km east of Southern Cross and is mainly used for recreation (Southern Cross Aero Club) and for the Royal Flying Doctor Service – although it has also previously been used for fly-in fly-out mine workers.
After submitted an application to WA’s State Development Assessment Panel (DAP) in December, the DAP deferred its decision pending the completion of a revised Aviation Assessment for the project.
A report commissioned by the wind farm developers found that minor adjustments would need to be made to the Aerodrome to safely accommodate the wind farm – adjustments Fortescue has committed to finance in full.
But at a hearing before the Regional Development Assistance Program, vice-president member Lindsay Baxter said that without a signed legal agreement covering all aspects of the project, they could not support its development.
“To say that an existing land use must change its practice to respond to a new land use, in my view, abrogates another purpose of planning, which is not to cause suffering to an existing land use by off-site impacts,” Baxter is quoted as saying.
“I would like to support this application… but I cannot fail to take into account the outstanding issue of Yilgarn Shire’s hesitancy over the safe, secure and continued operation of Southern Cross Aerodrome.”
According to reports, lawyers representing Fortescue told the hearing it was incorrect to claim there were outstanding safety issues with the aerodrome. They also argued that planning decisions and cost concerns related to the airfield should be kept separate.
“Fortescue has confirmed it would pay for everything and the solution is to impose a condition ensuring that is the case,” Lavan Legal partner Paul McQueen reportedly said.
RenewEconomy has contacted Fortescue for comment and is awaiting a response.
