Wind Farms

The Hon. C. BONAROS (17:05): I move:

That this council—

1. Notes that a decision on Neoen’s development application for a significant wind farm of 26 turbines standing 240 metres high at the proposed Crystal Brook Energy Park will soon be made by the state government;

2. Acknowledges that, according to new guidelines for Europe published by the World Health Organization, wind turbines can cause health problems if they result in people being exposed to excessive noise levels;

3. Further acknowledges that a Supreme Court-ordered report on the Bald Hills wind farm in Gippsland, Victoria, found there was a nuisance under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act despite the wind farm being compliant with state planning laws;

4. Further notes that a class action lawsuit is now being prepared by local residents against the South Gippsland council, the Victorian government and the wind farm operator following the independent report;

5. Recognises that the core objective of the Environmental Protection Authority’s ‘Wind farms environmental noise guidelines’ is 'to balance the advantage of developing wind energy projects in South Australia with protecting the amenity of the surrounding community from adverse noise impact';

6. Further recognises that the most recent State of the Environment Report (2013) by the South Australian EPA reported on the increase in noise complaints from existing wind farms, yet there has been no change to monitoring and compliance requirements; and

7. Calls on the government to place an urgent moratorium on approval or construction of any new wind farms until an independent full and thorough review is undertaken and an updated planning and compliance regime is implemented.

I rise to speak on the motion of the matter of a moratorium on wind farm developments in South Australia. When the world's pre-eminent health authority, the World Health Organization, airs a warning, the world should rightly heed that advice. The renowned Geneva-based organisation has recently released a report that found wind power turbines have the potential to cause serious health problems, including hearing loss, tinnitus, high blood pressure, and even heart problems, to people exposed to the excessive noise levels they emit.

The WHO provided these specific noise recommendations to protect the community. In new guidelines the WHO developed for the European Union but which it stressed are relevant globally, it recommends that exposure to wind turbines should not exceed 45 decibels over a 24-hour period.

On the presumption that a wind farm is permitted to operate throughout an entire 24-hour period of a day, the WHO guideline for the nominated acoustic metric would give rise to a limit at night of 36.3 dB(A) is a measured background level. This level is lower than that 35 dB(A) or background +5 dB, whichever is greater, provided in wind farm noise guidelines in South Australia's EPA. Soft radio music, by comparison, has 50 decibels, the WHO said.

We need to ensure that the implications of the WHO report are now taken into account in our own wind farm noise guidelines to prevent serious adverse health impacts on rural residents living near wind farms in South Australia—noting background noise, atmospheric and house construction conditions are quite different in Australia compared to much of Europe and that, as a result, even lower noise levels may be required. It is cause for concern indeed.

But it gets even more worrying. An independent report ordered by the Supreme Court of Victoria found that noise from the Bald Hills wind farm in Victoria is having an adverse impact on the comfort and wellbeing of residents living out to 2.4 kilometres on surrounding properties even when the wind turbines were compliant with their planning permit and were operating in noise reduced mode. A class action lawsuit is now being planned by local residents against the South Gippsland council, the Victorian government and the wind farm operator, following the report.

But the noise pollution that wind farms cause is only part of the greater problem. Wind farms are increasing in size in terms of both the capacity of energy generated and the size of the wind turbines themselves. A wind farm being proposed by French company Neoen at the gateway of our pristine Flinders Ranges, near Crystal Brook in South Australia's Mid North, is just one example. Currently the subject of a state commission assessment panel, for approval, each of the project's 26 wind turbines will stand 240 metres high, the highest level ever built in this state and double that of many of the existing wind turbines in SA. Each turbine will have an output of just under 5 megawatts—again, around double that of most existing wind farm developments in this state. By way of comparison, the Bald Hills wind turbines are only 2.05 megawatts.

Neoen's proposed wind farm is situated only three kilometres from the township of Crystal Brook and a lot closer to nearby rural living properties—an issue that has concerned local residents, many of whom have contacted SA-Best. Current laws permit wind farms to be built one kilometre from a property without the owner's consent and two kilometres from a town. In opposition—and I have mentioned this before in this place—the Liberals had a longstanding policy to better protect residents by banning new wind turbines from being built closer than two kilometres from an existing dwelling without the homeowner's consent and five kilometres from any town or settlement. Indeed, I believe that was included in correspondence sent to local residents as a policy position of the Liberal government by the Hon. David Ridgway.

Revelations by the influential World Health Organization (WHO) that wind farms have the potential to cause significant health dangers are damning. The new guidelines by the universally respected WHO should send a shiver through us all, especially those who live close to wind farms. The newly released WHO guidelines highlight the fact that our state's own noise guidelines, which are already complex and hard to decipher, are also grossly inadequate. I note that the EPA's wind farm noise guidelines for South Australia exclude noise characteristics specifically identified by the WHO as being of concern, including low frequency noise and amplitude modulation.

It is no secret that wind farms are getting increasingly bigger in physical size and greater in output capacity. In light of the WHO report and the sheer magnitude of the wind farm being proposed by Neoen, SA-Best implores the Marshall government to take decisive and immediate action. At the very least we call on the government to place an urgent moratorium on approval or construction of any wind farm until an independent, full and thorough review is undertaken and an updated, evidenced-based planning and noise pollution compliance regime is implemented that is transparent, effective in protecting health, and relevant for much larger and more powerful wind turbines.

We must ensure that both operating and future wind farms in South Australia are not allowed to emit noise that causes sleep disturbance or otherwise harms human health. We must also review legislation surrounding wind farm developments to ensure that SA residents are adequately protected from harm over the lifetime of each project, and that SA taxpayers will not foot the bill in future for noise nuisance litigation because inadequate planning and noise pollution regulations have failed to protect our residents from harm.

SA-Best is also concerned that wind farm proposals are starting to encroach on some of our state's most scenic landscapes, including the Flinders Ranges and the Barossa and Clare valleys. If Neoen's project is given final approval to be constructed on the cusp of the world-famed Flinders Ranges, an ugly and irreversible precedent will have been set.

At present development assessment for wind farms assumes, but completely discounts, their substantial visual impact on the landscape. While wind farms are not explicitly envisaged in designated landscape protection zones, much stronger protection is needed to make it clear to developers that our iconic landscapes are absolutely 100 per cent off limits.

The most recent State of the Environment Report 2013 by the South Australian EPA reported an increase in noise complaints from existing wind farms, yet there has been no change to monitoring and compliance requirements, even though turbines are getting bigger and more powerful. Again, I use Neoen's development application for the Crystal Brook energy park, which includes 26 turbines, each with an output of close to 5 megawatts, as an example—double what we have in this jurisdiction at the moment.

The company has concluded that it would be compliant with the current EPA wind farm noise guidelines, despite a number of disturbing issues raised by residents, including:

that the company's background noise measurements were based on only five sites, two of which were landholders receiving payments for hosting turbines;

that the three closest non-associated residences did not have background noise monitoring undertaken by Neoen;

the company's baseline noise monitoring was conducted in the middle of the grain harvesting period, when there is a higher than usual background noise level;

there is no consideration of amplitude modulation or separation of night-time noise levels, which is a real concern for assessing the impact on sleep;

the type of turbine to be used is unknown. The assessor assumed a GE 4.8-158 WTG (I am not going to try to explain what that means), but identified that the final WTG selection will occur during the design phase; and

spacing between many turbines is also much closer than recommended by the manufacturer, which will further increase the level of noise and turbulence.

The EPA's State of the Environment (2013) report also notes that noise above safe levels leads to a number of known health impacts, such as stress, high blood pressure, loss of sleep, inability to concentrate and loss of productivity. That the WHO has now explicitly identified wind farm noise as a source of such health impacts for residents is of significant concern.

Furthermore, independent acoustic engineers and researchers have identified noise and infrasound issues up to 15 kilometres from turbines, depending on the local topography. All this information, together with the recent independent report ordered by the Supreme Court regarding the noise impact of the Bald Hills wind farm in Victoria, paint an emerging and concerning story.

It is worth noting that a State Commission Assessment Panel assessment into the Neoen wind farm project near Crystal Brook received more than 250 submissions, with the vast majority opposing the development. It is my understanding that a mere handful of submissions were not in opposition to the development. This includes the local council, which resolved to actively oppose the project.

In fact, 15 submissions were in favour of the development. The majority of these were from people living close to the proposed site and who will receive a significant financial gain for having wind turbines built on their properties. One landholder does not live in the local area, and one has made public comments as to his intent to relocate once the turbines are constructed because, after all, who would want one of these things in their backyard?

The Port Pirie regional development plan has an objective to protect the community health and amenity from adverse impacts of development, and specifically for wind farms to avoid or minimise excessive noise impacts on nearby property, owners, occupiers, road users and wildlife. The Neoen wind farm assessment has not identified any adverse noise or health impacts for people or wildlife. Accordingly, without such an assessment, the Neoen application cannot be approved while the Port Pirie regional development plan has not been addressed.

In view of the WHO report, and specifically identifying that wind turbines can create a health impact, an urgent moratorium is required to protect the state and South Australian taxpayers from a class action against the state if the Neoen project is approved. On 13 April 2018, the Minister for Environment and Water, the Hon. David Speirs, stated on ABC radio Adelaide that he hoped to get moving a review of the wind farm noise guidelines. With respect, getting that moving is not enough. Given that more than six months has passed since the minister made those comments, SA-Best is keen to be updated by the minister on where that review is currently.

We also seek the government's assurances that the review is undertaken with full transparency, with input from the community that will be impacted at the local level, the people from Crystal Brook who will have these things in their backyards, and independent acousticians, and that improved safeguards for nearby residents are in place before any new wind turbines are approved or constructed.

Until these issues are resolved, the state government must place an urgent moratorium on approval or construction of any new wind farms. In closing, I make the point that we would never, never, absolutely never, even contemplate building a wind farm on Mount Lofty, so why are we even considering one on the doorstep of our internationally renowned Flinders Ranges and other treasured assets of the state?

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. D.G.E. Hood.