The proposed Crows Nest Wind Farm, will be located in south-eastern

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, 40 kilometres north of

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 ...

. It initially was to have an installed generating capacity of 124 MW that would produce intermittent electricity that could power some 47,000 homes during periods of high wind. It is expected that the

wind farm A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turb ...

will create 460 manufacturing and construction jobs and a further 15 full-time maintenance jobs in Crows Nest. The Crows Nest location on the western edge of the

Darling Downs The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was general ...

, offers some of the best average wind speeds available in Queensland, and the project will provide additional security of electricity supply in this fast-growing area. The project was acquired by AGL Energy in 2009 after purchasing it and another wind farm at Barn Hill in South Australia from

Transfield Services Broadspectrum, formerly known as Transfield Services, was an Australian and New Zealand company that provided infrastructure maintenance services. Formerly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, and later owned by Ferrovial, it was the ...

. In June 2009, AGL was allowed to increase the number of turbines by 20 units and therefore the output from 124 MW to 200 MW. The cost of the project is now expecting to be A$270 million.

Objections

Residents of Crows Nest Shire formed a "No Wind Farm" group which objected to the proposal. The activists contended that

turbine A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced by a turbine can be used for generating ...

blades would cause light flicker as they passed the sun, turbines would cause noise, devalue land, be a detriment to fauna and visual appeal of the area and were contrary to the council's town plan. They also argued the green credentials of wind farms were a myth because large amounts of coal-fired energy was needed to power up generators to full capacity after a drop in wind speed. After drawn-out legal proceedings and mediation between the parties, the objections were progressively dropped.(14 December 2006)
Opponents vow to fight wind farm
''The Chronicle''. Toowoomba Newspapers Pty Ltd.

References

Wind farms in Queensland Proposed wind farms in Australia {{Australia-powerstation-stub

Objections

See also

References