MOD 1 - Turbine and infrastructure changes

I profoundly OBJECT to SSD-6696-Mod-1 on the grounds that this Modification request will increase the noise, visual, environmental & health impacts of an already totally illogical, obnoxious & stupid development which has no beneficial or redeeming features whatsoever for Australia.
220 ugly as sin Wind Turbine monstrosities - at a towering height of 250 metres - will assault all human beings & precious creatures afflicted by them.

Cumulative impacts from another 370 Wind Turbines in the vicinity around Coolah, Uarbry, Leadville & Cassilis would add to this unacceptable disgrace which will be nothing more than a farcical waste & grossly ugly eyesore reminder for future generations of the soon to be redundant, Woke, ideological crap being dished up by idiotic, lying decision makers.

This modification will impact 1249 ha more native vegetation & further remove vital habitat for numerous precious creatures.
Essential food growing land & vital water sources will be contaminated by toxic Bisphenol A (lethal to young children) shedding from wind turbine blades.

Australia's Economic Prosperity - Food Security - Independent Energy Security & National Security are all being threatened by Wind & Solar Electricity Generating Works because they are a renewaBULL Con - their tragic life-cycle is NOT one bit clean, green, sustainable, efficient or cheap energy at all!

Humans beings matter!
This community has not consented to these 220 x 250m high Wind Turbines. They have long been objecting & they are being ignored! There has never been a social licence. Consultation has not been genuine or transparent.
Some families will be forced to see more than 160 ghastly Wind Turbines in their presently beautiful view.
This is NOT a just transition! It's cruel, heartbreaking torture - emotionally, mentally, socially & physically damaging to numerous families who are forcibly subject to this harmful, inconsiderate process & planned horror.
This is wrong! Rural Australians matter!

The ludicrous NSW DPE & Federal Government decisions makers need to wake up to the reality that their scandalous, fake green fantasy schemes & scams are well & truly all over!
It's glaringly obvious - abundantly clear - globally proven - that large-scale Wind/Solar Electricity Generating Works are a completely inefficient, intermittent, dismal failure & will NEVER supply base-load power. Such unreliable energy sources are now globally defunct!
The world is increasingly becoming a dangerous place, where foolish fantasies - such as dumb energy decisions like this plan - have no place!

"YOU KNOW THE VERY POWERFUL AND THE VERY STUPID HAVE ONE THING IN COMMON.
THEY DON'T ALTER THEIR VIEWS TO FIT THE FACTS.
THEY ALTER THE FACTS TO FIT THEIR VIEWS." Doctor Who (1977)

Doctor Who well describes the NSW DPE & all Government policy makers, assessing officers & co. peddling their fake green, renewaBULL lunacy in order to cause large-scale environmental destruction everywhere, deprivation of reliable - efficient - secure - cheap- Australian energy, job losses & economic impoverishment at the whim of dictatorial, authoritarian regimes - with no benefits whatsoever for Australians now or for future generations.
This fake green lunacy = "BLACKOUTS, BANKRUPTCY & BULL!!"

It is now well & truly proven that Wind/Solar Electricity Generating Works are being abandoned globally - as they are hopelessly unable to provide essential, independent, reliable power.
They are not a solution to manage anything to do with our ever changing climate whatsoever! Instead they are causing extensive environmental destruction with their extremely detrimental life-cycle - based on highly extractive industries, extremely energy intensive - toxic processing, potent green house gas leaking (from wind turbines - solar manufacturing - ever increasing RE switch gear/circuit breakers) including man made SF6 - 23.500 x more warming than naturally occurring CO2, land/water contaminating & the creating massive piles of toxic waste being buried in landfill.

Dodgy, fake green renewaBULL theory & modelling fudgery does nothing for providing the required practical reality of essential, reliable, efficient, economical & secure base load power
for Australia.
Just like the farcical, adnauseaum carping of the previous Chief Climate Catastrophe Commissioner's ridiculously false advice that "EVEN THE RAIN THAT FALLS WILL NOT FILL OUR RIVER SYSTEMS & DAMS."
The same illogical nonsense is being promulgated by ideologically/financially driven advisors, bureaucrats, decision makers, politicians, energy regulators, energy networks, colluding corporates, big business, the global elite, fake green investors, developers, hosting pariahs & all those subsidy suckers on the fake green gravy train pedalling these fake green Wind Turbines.

It is unconscionable that 300-600 x more land is being dumped on by intermittent, CCP reliant Wind/Solar EG Works as compared to the needs of far superior Australian Gas & Nuclear energy.

This Wind EG Works does nothing to provide reliable, efficient, secure, cheap power at all during WIND DROUGHTS!
Covering Australia in Solar/Wind electronic garbage with filthy, toxic, hopelessly incapable BESS does nothing to make the wind blow.
Only God Almighty can make the wind blow & the sun shine when he chooses to.
One thing however, is for certain - this scandalous, fake green Wind/Solar fudgery is the antithesis of caring for God's wonderful creation & totally against Australia's moral conscience.

Net Zero's anti-Australian, fake geen lunacy & economic impoverishment is sabotaging the country - enslaving us to dictatorial totalitarian regimes such as the evil WEF with their damaging ESG/Great Reset agenda & Australia's most hostile actor - the Chinese Communist Party.

Rural Australians deserve equality NOT mistreatment by greedy, city-centric energy consumers & planners who demand our lifestyles with beautiful, iconic landscapes, precious ecological habitat & essential, life sustaining food bowls are extensively ruined & contaminated so they can hypocritically feel fake virtue.
Sensible Australians don't want their public Taxes wasted on rubbish energy poverty that is reliant on & controlled by the Chinese Communist Party & their slave labour supply chains - we & future generations want & need plentiful, real power - Australian coal, gas & a nuclear energy future.

I hereby record my objection to the amended Liverpool Range Wind Farm. This is not a minor modification & the application should be re-submitted as a new project. The heightened wind turbines will not only be visually unappealing they will bring noise pollution into our quiet valley where the Coolah township is located. With the added height, these turbines will impose on our town, be visible from the Pinnacle lookout at the Coolah Tops National Park & present a fire-fighting risk. The construction of these turbines will be damaging to our local environment, local roads & bring no long term benefits to our district. The Liverpool Range project should not be assessed as a standalone project. It should be assessed as one of two major wind projects which will surround the town of Coolah. It is unjust that the townspeople will suffer the greatest in the long term for the financial benefit of a handful of landholders. I've lived most of my 80 years in this Coolah district and these awful projects will be the ruination of our beautiful, quiet country landscape. Please reconsider.

With regard to the proposed Valley Of The Winds wind farm I have a number of objections to the project.
- concerned about the visual impact of the wind turbines which myself and the residents of Coolah will be looking at from our homes. Currently the view is of a beautiful outlook of rolling hills unspoilt by development. With a height of 250 meters these proposed turbines will be an eyesore on this beautiful landscape not only to my family but to everyone who resides in the Coolah valley or even passes through it.
- concerned about what happens with all the turbines and concrete once they reach the end of their working life.
- concerned about the noise impact both during construction and the noise of the turbines itself, especially for those in close proximity to a number of turbines
- increase in the amount of native flora to be removed, including 427ha of the critically endangered ecological community box gum woodland and habitat of the at-risk Regent Honeyeater.
- impact to light aircraft and and aerial fire fighting
These are just a few of the objections to this project,

MDEG objects to the External Transmission Line as described in Mod 1.

I support the Liverpool range wind farm project

I support the modifications of the Liverpool range wind farm

I strongly object to the modifications outlined in this submission for the following reasons:

* The increase in height of turbines by 85m to 250m will definitely mean more visual impact on the area. Coolah, Cassilis and surrounds is a very scenic, agricultural area which is visited by many tourists who seek out natural landscapes and picturesque townships. Higher turbines will be more visible from more places and stand out more. They will not fit in with the scenery at all.

* The fact that turbines would now be visible from the Pinnacle Lookout of Coolah Tops National Park is abhorrent! Again, this is a picturesque, native area with views over farmland and untouched forest. To ruin that with ugly turbines is disgusting and shouldn't even be considered.

* The height increase will also increase noise impact. I think it is very unjust to expect non associated dwellings and possibly even a whole township to suffer even the low decibel amounts in your report. People live here for the peace and quietness. At night it can be deadly quiet here. It is not the city with humdrum background noise. I think more detailed and more accurate investigation should be undertaken to incorporate dwellings at a similar altitude that are perhaps outside your current investigation area. Or else they better be turned off at night so we can sleep!!! This is a very important matter and not to be taken lightly.

* The height increase adds further limitations to aerial operations. Being a rural area, there are many activities that this could hamper. For example, the LLS just undertook an aerial observation for feral pig numbers around Coolah. And what about bush fire water dumping. Being higher is going to affect accuracy and ability to fight fires in areas inaccessible by ground.

* While the number of turbines is reduced in the modification, there is a much greater impact on the region. There will be more concrete batching plants, more land cleared, more transmission lines etc etc. I fear the amount of erosion that is very likely to take place when clearing large sections of black soil hills. This will have flow affect to water quality, river health and could affect flood levels in Coolah town.

* There could be detrimental impacts on native plants, animals and birds by reducing habitat with the larger footprint and possibly harming them in flight. How ironic that the project admits moderate impact on the almost extinct Regent Honeyeater, and at the same time the government is subsidising landowners in the area to create habitat for them. Why is this project even allowed to go ahead at all with the threat of possibly wiping out a species? Coolah... where the eagles soar... as the saying goes. It is well known that eagles crash into the blades from time to time. One would have to assume having larger turbines might increase their risk of harm.

* There is also another wind farm application (ACEN Valley of the Winds) which is in very close proximity to this project. It is outrageous that the two projects are assessed separately when they will have a combined impact on the region.

In conclusion, I strongly object to this modification application. I believe there is such a difference that this should be assessed as a whole new application which also takes into consideration the second application of the nearby wind farm south of Coolah.

While this is merely an objection to the modifications, I would like to let it be known that I strongly object to the farm even being built at all in this district. There are so many reasons for this eg. economic and social impacts on the small towns of Coolah and Cassilis, unreliable power source, costly, non recyclable components, untouched hills altered forever etc etc.

As a fourth generation Coolah district resident, I place on record a strong objection to the amended Liverpool Range Wind project being seen as a modification and being assessed as a standalone wind project instead of being assessed as one of two wind projects which will encircle the township of Coolah.
This is not a simple "modification" if the application has a new proponent & an increase in;
- height of 220 wind turbines to 250 m tall
- Operations buildings from 1 to 3
- Collector substations from 4 to 7
- Higher usage of State & local roads for oversize haulage
- Internal transmission lines from 28.19 km to 43.93 km
- Concrete Batch Plants from 4 to 10
- Construction Compounds from 6 to 10
- Permanent Met Masts from 10 to 14 at hub height
- Increase in the development corridor.
This project application should be re-submitted as a new project. The Liverpool Range project must be considered & assessed together with the second large Valley of the Winds project which when combined will encompass the town of Coolah & surrounds.
Our small rural community was never consulted about our inclusion or otherwise into this NSW Government Renewable Energy Zone. Many of us who are not associated with immediate wind or solar threats have been blind-sided by the pile-on by developers of renewable energy projects in our area due to the fact that we are located in the Central West Orana Renewable Energy Zone. Two massive wind turbine projects in a scenic, agricultural area containing the treasured Coolah Tops National Park is simply environmental vandalism. What hasn’t been announced yet is the transmission towers which will march across our landscapes from Coolah REZ to Armidale REZ resulting in more visual pollution & impact on farmers.
The NSW Government's Energy Co's update brochure featured an indicative map with diagram of the REZ transmission project. Despite showing the two huge wind turbine projects planned, the town of COOLAH, which will bear the most detrimental impacts of noise & visual pollution once surrounded by 300+ turbines from both wind projects, does not show on the diagram. At all. It has been made invisible & this can only be seen as a purposeful omission.
As farmers who produce grain & beef sustainably it’s offensive to see both solar & wind projects described as “farms”. This is an ‘optics only’ term to give the illusion that these non-recyclable, non-sustainable, non-viable-without-subsidy eyesores are good for us. As farmers who lived through the devastating Sir Ivan firestorm in 2017, these heightened turbines will prove disastrous for both on the ground & aerial firefighting. As farmers who've lived through many droughts, we understand the difficulty in providing the massive quantities of water which will be consumed by these projects and which will also need to be carted in on our local roads. Flooding, water quality & soil impacts should never be assumed as “low potential impacts” where there is black erosive vertisol soils like those in this district as was proven with the high pressure natural gas pipeline flood exposures in 2010 on our farm.
This energy is not clean in the making. Each turbine requires over one hundred truckloads of concrete to be bought to each site via erosive black soils & along already damaged rural roads. Each turbine is manufactured overseas & shipped here. Each turbine will be brought to each site by diesel trucks. Large concrete pads are built using tonnes of cement & masses of water. The turbines themselves require hydraulic oil & electric backup.
Coolah is home to the Coolah Tops National Park. A park that's well loved by locals & visitors alike as a playground for walkers & mountain bikers & campers with its waterfalls, grass tree forest, walking tracks & lookouts. It's unacceptable that these heightened wind turbines will be visible from the Pinnacle Lookout there. People do not come here to see wind turbines which are lethal to the wedgetail eagles which call the park home.
Then there’s the claims around employment. It's already been proven in Coolah that these energy proposals always over-estimate employment opportunities & benefits to local communities while under-estimating & downplaying the unfavourable environmental & social impacts they bring. Our local Councils are already at a loss managing our road maintenance without the severe damage these projects bring to our local area roads with transport of massive turbine components, workers, concrete & water.
Rural areas are the path of least resistance for greedy subsidised developers. The populations out here are small and our voices drowned out, disregarded or ignored. We do not have the capacity to fight nor the access to lobby government with many of these decisions settled before local people are made aware. Wind turbines should be located closest to area of most need for the most amount of people - the cities. However, these turbines would never be foisted on the residents of the Blue Mountains or the North Shore of Sydney & have no place out here in our pristine rural countryside. These environmentally unsound, non-viable projects will not generate enough energy to replace reliable coal & gas electricity supply and if we continue down this path we will be hurled back into the dark ages & we will all suffer for it for generations.

I object to the Liverpool Range Wind farm following a review of the published EIS.
The impacts on our local communities of Coolah, Cassilis, Uarbry and Leadville, not to mention the extensive farming areas and valleys of our beautiful rural area will be severe. Towering monstrosities of 250m surrounding our homes and day to day lives. Irreversible environmental damage with increased removal of native vegetation, disruption and destruction of native wildlife habitat, all on top of the destruction of one of rural Australia’s great country communities which has been built on trust, friendship, hard work, resilience and pure Australian rural spirit. This community and its wonderful people, like so many in our great country are priceless. A value cannot be put on a such an entity. The Liverpool Range Wind Farm threatens our livelihoods our environment and must not go ahead. The Liverpool Range Wind farm should be abandoned in its entirety.

I am objecting to the proposed modification for the reasons below
-Visual impact on the Coolah Valley and the Community. The larger towers will have a huge
visual impact and should not be able to be built within a 10km radius of townships.
-Environmental impact on endangered species habitat ie the Regent Honey Eater. The NSW
Gov and LLS had spent much time and money protecting this habitat. This modification is
therefore a contradiction.
- Coolah Tops National Park is Coolah main tourist attraction and home to many native
species both flora and fauna. The project will have serious impact on the area and the drive
to it from Coolah. Power lines in this area should be underground and no substations, batch
plants or battery storage areas should be visible along Forest Road.
-The power lines on the Forest Road will need to be underground so as not to impact on the
ability to use airstrips on properties This puts the property and surrounding properties at
great risk during bush fires. These airstrips are also needed for flying ag planes in and out for
supering purposes.
-The land values around this area have a real probability of decreasing in the short and long
term due to this project getting the go ahead.
-There is a real concern of dividing a very productive and cohesive regional community. The
community must see a benefit for them. ie long term jobs assured, improvement of
facilities, educational and medical improvements.
Thank you for reading my submission. After all is considered, it is us who has to live here
both in the short term and in the long term. We want to do our bit, which i believe we
already do, using our prime agricultural land but at the same time we don't want to be over
towered.

Such a thing like this should not be allowed to happen. I do not believe that this is the way we save the environment.

Thank you for the opportunity to make a submission on SSD 6696 – Mod 1 – Liverpool Range Wind Farm (Tilt) on behalf of the Coolah District Development Group.
Our community is struggling to comprehend the cumulative impacts of multiple giant renewable energy projects and the associated transmission infrastructure on the Coolah District. It is noted that Tilt do not consider cumulative impact in their EIS.

Cumulative impact
The negative cumulative impacts from the TILT Renewable energy project have not been adequately communicated. At a recent community meeting many attendees were asking why the Tilt project is labelled a “modified” project when the current proposal goes outside of its previously approved boundary. Many cannot understand how DPE are allowing this to be presented as a modified project with Turbine height increasing by 52% and many more homes being impacted visually (compared to the approved project).
Given the size and number of turbines proposed in the area (between the ACEN and TILT) there is increasing distrust regarding the information provided by the developer. The community is aware that two peer reviewed noise studies for the neighbouring Valley of the Winds project found that the developer’s noise study underestimated the sound by 5 – 10 dB consistently.
There is increasing discussion around cumulative impact, yet TILT declines any responsibility for cumulative impact in any part of their EIS.
Many of the people who live in Coolah believe that turbines should not be located within 10 km of the town.
Will this project be the demise of our rural community? Already the social impact has been hugely negative given the division created by the developers. Details of another community that 10 years on is thriving following the installation of hundreds of enormous wind turbines would be beneficial in our planning.

Bush fire risk
As a direct result of the Sir Ivan Fire in 2017 there is a great deal of discussion in the community about the ability to conduct effective aerial firefighting within a landscape of 250-metre-high turbines and transmission infrastructure. This is a high-risk bush fire area. Battery Storage facilities were part of the original modification, if this modification is approved will the community see a future modification for BESS facilities? Can a wind farm operate without BESS? The community is aware that BESS facilities bring additional fire risks.

Coolah Tops National Park
The Coolah Tops National Park is one of our main tourist attractions. Many in the community are concerned about Tilt’s plan to build turbines that will be clearly evident from the park, particularly from the Pinnacle lookout, and certainly be the dominant feature at the entrance to the park.

Regent Honeyeater
The Central West Local Land Services is currently reaching out to local landholders to take part in a Regent Honeyeater project. Most of the Liverpool Range wind farm is in this priority area 2 habitat for the Regent Honeyeater. The Liverpool Range wind farm will remove 577.8 ha of Regent Honeyeater habitat. The community do not understand how Tilt reconcile this land clearing with known projects designed to protect threatened species. Habitat destruction is the biggest threat to endangered species.

Modified project?
The numerous changes from the original project: turbine size increase from 165 to 250 metre, increased land clearing, increased hardstand, increased footprint, increased number of non -associated homes impacted, increased number of concrete batching plants, increased micro siting allowance, increased shadow flicker, increased traffic, increased noise at non associated dwellings, increased impact on native vegetation, increased destruction of habitat for threatened, vulnerable and protected species, increased overhead transmission lines, increased roads, turbines now proposed outside the original development boundary. The community is questioning calling this a “modification” given the significant changes proposed.
The modified project also requests that micro siting of turbines be increased from 100 metres to 250 metres. Many consider this is obfuscates the actual visual, environmental and noise impacts of turbines and transmission infrastructure.

Roads
The current state of our roads is an ongoing community concern. The community cannot imagine how the roads will cope with the anticipated additional traffic let alone the hundreds (or will it be thousands?) of OSOM vehicles. There is skepticism that any of our roads will be improved.

Waste Materials
Further information needed about where the waste materials will be taken including the turbines at the end of their life?

Water Usage
The water situation demands for the project are astronomic- not just the bases but the road upgrades, access roads and extra personnel.

Workers camps
Will there be any benefit from workers camps located in the area and how will water and sewage be managed? Will these workers fly in/fly out from other areas to the closest regional airport? Will any of the local businesses substantially benefit from the additional population shopping, drinking and eating in town and ensure the positive management of social issues for everyone? What is the longevity of the camp after the development is completed?

Land Values
Many are deeply concerned about the impact this project will have on the value of their home or agricultural land. Can you give our community evidence that home and land values do not drop in areas visually and sound impacted by turbines of this size and number? Do potential buyers seek out homes/land with views of hundreds of turbines?

Community Benefits
The community is aware that all the councils along the transport route will expect road upgrades – noted is the Muswellbrook Council’s letter to DPE regarding council roads not being fit for purpose for multiple OSOM vehicles for multiple renewable projects all overlapping in construction time. Muswellbrook council are very focused on the cumulative impact of these projects as all the CWO REZ projects will travel through the Muswellbrook LGA.
The voluntary planning agreement is derived on per turbine not per Megawatt of power produced. Many in the community believe this is not fair or reasonable given the increase in cumulative impacts as a result of MOD-1.
Will any OSOM crossing over the Coolaburagundy River benefit the community? The OSOM maps displayed by TILT during submissions appears to show OSOM routes with no link to other routes. It is also noted that other roads in the project appear to be duplicated as many as 3 times to the same destination.
We support renewable energy however we are keen to minimise the impacts on our beautiful environment and maximise the benefits for everyone in the community. How will the entire Coolah community benefit from this project? It is noted that during the submissions stage the TILT project was displayed in a shopfront in the main street. However, a TILT team member was not present to answer any questions.

As a regular visitor to the Coolah region I object to the proposed wind farms. The Natural beauty of the area is framed by the many mountains and ridges. Wind farms placed around these areas will diminish the attraction for tourism in the area. The area has a number of eagles that use the ridge tops for nesting and hunting. The danger to birds from wind farms is well documented, Death caused by the blades is common. Wind farms are also a risk to endangered birds and bats as well as insects. These farms will also be near sensitive national parks where rare birdlife exists. The amount of bushland needed to be cleared will have a negative impact on wild life and now with the changes to the turbine size and foot print needed this will be unacceptable. The road works and building will be a costly disruption to the already struggling farms in the area.
For the local land owners the sight of these wind farms surrounding their once peaceful properties is very distressing and will effect their mental health. The land values will also be adversely effected. The noise and flickering of light from wind farms effects farm animals and reduces profitability by stopping stock from grazing those areas .
The claim that wind farms produce safe and renewable energy is also false. The resources needed to build and install wind farms far out ways any posable benefit. They are unreliable and non recyclable.
The building of wind farms in Coolah area has no plausible benefit to the area and will in-fact will be an unacceptable detriment.

Please see attachment.

The Uarbry Tongy Lane Alliance Inc objects to the Tilt Liverpool Range modification.

(Refer attached)

I support of renewable energy projects, however have concerns about the cumulative impact of multiple projects being developed a great distance from the major consumer sources. The associated biodiversity loss, power loss and visual amenity loss that comes with the power generation and transmission lines does not seem to have been given proper consideration.

The justifications given for numerous complaints are far from acceptable and should not be passed as appropriate excuses. Taking an example, the noise complaint. It has been justified by saying that the noise level will not be over 34db at a residence. 34db may not be much in the city but out in the proposed area, 34db will be heard and will be attributed to unnatural noise. The distinction will be very easy to make between natural and unnatural noise. What happens to the noise levels out in pastures and paddocks where livestock are kept? The report dictates that the 34db limit is from the house. Sheep, cattle and other livestock may be affected by the noise and it may even lead to a financial impact for the farmer. No matter what is said, or proposed to do to combat it, there will be massive environmental, visual and agricultural impacts to all properties in the region. Not to mention the national park just down the road that will suffer immensely from air pollution during construction and ultimately will result in the deaths of tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of native flora and fauna. This proposed wind farm will only serve to line the pockets of a select few and will leave a great unnatural blight on the region. The region is beautiful and does not need the strain of these wind turbines. In the end it really just isn’t worth what is proposed it will provide. The negative impacts far outweigh the positive ones.

See reasons for objections hereunder