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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2013-11-26 Daily Xml
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WATERLOO WIND FARM

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation) (14:31): I rise to inform the chamber that today the Environmental Protection Authority released its report on the Waterloo Wind Farm Noise Study. This study, undertaken during the months of April and June this year, considered the concerns raised by a number of residents about the alleged noise emanating from the wind farm and whether they were breaching South Australian standards.

I am pleased to advise that the study has shown that the Waterloo wind farm is operating within the EPA's guidelines. Other findings include:

infrasound levels were found to be below the internationally accepted thresholds for human perception;

the noise frequencies at which turbine blades pass the tower was not shown to be significant at Waterloo; and

in many cases, analysis of audio records was unable to demonstrate associations with events described in noise diaries by residents and in general, where some association was found, amplification of that sound was required for it to be perceived by the human ear.

It is important to note that at no time while the study was being conducted has the EPA disputed the concerned residents' experience of a noise event. However, this report shows that whatever these residents are experiencing, it does not relate to the Waterloo wind farm.

This is an important development and one that I hope will enable the concerned residents of Waterloo to move ahead with their lives. I can advise that the EPA met with a number of these residents this morning and briefed them on the report's findings before its release to the public. In brief, the study has two components: a noise weather monitoring component, and a community diary component of which about 25 residents participated on a weekly basis, and another 25 residents who participated on a less regular basis.

The owner and operator of the wind farm, Energy Australia, has cooperated fully with the study and has assisted in the inquiry by providing operational and meteorological information to the EPA. They have also cooperated by conducting six separate shutdowns of the site at times when the plant would normally operate to also assist in the scientific process.

Peer review of the study was undertaken by the New South Wales EPA and I can advise that they found the study to be of a high technical standard. Whilst the study was not intended to look at any perceived health impacts of wind farms, this data and report will be provided to health authorities upon request.

I would like to acknowledge the residents of the area who took part in the study as their own noise diaries were an essential part of the research. I would also like to acknowledge the support of Energy Australia whose commitment to this undertaking I outlined earlier.

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