Valley of the Winds Wind Farm

I would like to strongly object to the Valley of the winds Wind farm for the following reasons;
It will have severe implications on agricultural production on prime agricultural land ( climate change is about food security and the positioning of this construction makes no sense at all. Aerial agriculture would be extremely difficult if not impossible and the turbulence coming off the enormous blades would cause havoc with spray drift from ground spray application .
Apart from being a fire hazard themselves the height (250 metres) of these towers will prevent any aerial fire fighting activities in the valley and put the town of Coolah and the surrounding area at risk from wild fires such as the st Ivan fire.
I have flown through that valley many times and no where else have I seen so many wedgetail eagles and other bird life. The size and number of the proposed towers would decimate these populations.
While i am not opposed to wind farms this proposal is just in the wrong place and other less agriculturally viable areas would be much more suitable

Please refer to attachment.

I am a resident of the small Village of Uarbry. Uarbry is my place of peace for me and my family, its a quiet place to escape the city to spend time in the village. I only discovered this week what UPC/AC plan to do to Uarbry in their proposed project "Vally off the winds" wind farm.
My place of peace and quiet is going to become the central point of access to the Sind farm project , up to 344 constructions vehicles are going to drive past my home daily. ( we generally see less than 10 cars per day), they are going to push down trees in the village and widen the streets. With this will come construction noise, traffic noise, dust and then visual assault of seeing multiple 250 metre high wind turbines and the associated transmissoin towers.

UPC/ AC don't care about our Village we are simply in the path to their project, my place of escape and peace and quiet will be destroyed forever.

I have concerns regarding the above project in relation to the following points:
-Insurance and rate increase - cattle, property, fire and theft. I hold concerns in relation to the increase of insurance costs due to greater bushfire risk, lack of air support during bushfire which in-turn will require me to insure my cattle (approx $10,000). I am also concerned regarding my location in relation to the workers camp - greater risk of theft of machinery and livestock.
-Decrease in property value - I believe the value of my property will decrease significantly due to the placement of wind towers.
-Impact on my business - fertilizer sales. Several of my local customers will no longer be able to spread fertilizer via air, resulting in a significant reduction of my business earnings.
-Visual impact - self explanatory
-Workers camp placement - I have concerns regarding the placement of the workers camp. The facility will be located a distance from town, meaning most supplies will be brought in from other areas rather than supporting local business. I hold concerns for increased theft and unauthorized access to local farming properties for hunting/poaching activities.
Bushfire concerns - Aerial support for bushfires will be reduced. Water bombing played a significant role in saving properties in the Coolah valley during the Sir Ivan fire. Reduced aerial support will increase insurance costs/requirements and put pressure on our local RFS ground crews in the event of a fire.
Noise concerns - throughout construction and ongoing
Traffic - Increase in traffic and road closures impacting ease of access to my property and use of roads conducting my business/transporting livestock/freight.

We live in Uarbry, a small village beside the Golden Highway, where UPC/AC want to demolish trees in order to transport overmass and oversized vehicles through to the Valley of the Winds wind farm. The Sir Ivan fire in 2017 almost demolished our village and what trees we have left we do not want removed. For 2 years we will have 344 construction vehicles pass our house daily, at present we see less than 20 vehicles per day. The dust and noise from this industrial development will be beyond anything we have ever experienced. We live here because we like the peaceful rural environment and we want to look at a natural environment NOT one littered with 250 metre (820 feet) high industrial wind turbines on the surrounding ridges.

I am a resident of the village of Uarbry, where I’ve lived for almost thirty years in peace and tranquillity, except for the Sir Ivan bushfire in 2017. That fire took everything I owned and over the ensuing five years I’ve struggled to put my life back together and regain that peaceful lifestyle for what remains of my life.
Just when it seems that goal has been achieved, we learn that UPC/AC want to demolish trees to transport overmass and oversized vehicles through our village to the Valley of the Winds wind farm. On roads that currently see, at most, half a dozen vehicle movements a day, they plan to have 344 construction vehicles passing our house daily, for two years. That’s just during the construction phase. The interference in our quiet, peaceful lives and the noise and dust that will be generated is simply not acceptable. Nor is the destruction of the natural environment or the absolute eyesore that will be put in its place. We will no longer have the freedom to walk or drive around our village or the peace of mind that comes with knowing and trusting your neighbours. We worked hard for what we have here. We still work hard to maintain it. To have it just destroyed?

With regard to the proposed Valley Of The Winds wind farm my family and I have a number of concerns about the impacts of the project. Whilst we are neither totally for nor against the project we are hugely concerned about the visual impact of the wind turbines of which we are going to be looking at a large number of from our home. We currently have a beautiful outlook of rolling hills unscared by development. With a height of 250 meters these proposed turbines will be an horrific eyesore to this beautiful landscape not only to my family but to everyone who resides in the Coolah valley or even passes through it.
Of other great concern to us is the potential interference to our already intermittent telephone and internet reception as we rely on these for the running of our business on a daily basis as well as the possible effects on digital television reception which is already weak.
Property values is another area of great concern to us the effect of which seems to be overlooked in all of the documentation regarding the project. It seems unclear of the possible impact to land values but I cannot imagine that it will be beneficial as many potential buyers would be off put by having a wind farm of this magnitude so close by detracting from the charm of this picturesque countryside.
The impact on aviation will be detrimental to both agricultural practices and the control of wildfires. As an active member of the Rural Fire Service the use of air attack for fire control is one the best tools we have to prevent loss of life and property. With the lack of new volunteers and an ageing base of current volunteers aviation is becoming even more critical for wildfire control. Also there is the question of Medical Retrieval via rescue helicopter in the vicinity of the wind farm in case of serious accident , injury, or medical emergency.
As my home is located in close proximity to a number of the proposed wind turbines UPC Renewables has offered a form of compensation to me by way of Neighborhood Benefit Agreement which seems insufficient especially due to skyrocketing cost of living and as it is not payable until the project Date of Commissioning Completion which may be some years away. The current dollar amount in the proposed agreement will not be near enough as fair compensation. In addition to this anyone who has a landholding without a residence and is within the impacted area is ineligible for compensation. This seems more than a little unfair to those effected.
We still have many other reservations that are not listed here and while we can also see some potential benefits for the local community Overall we feel that the Negative Impacts of the proposed Valley Of The Winds project will greatly outweigh any benefits that Coolah and surrounding areas stand to gain.

I am a private pilot that uses the airfield at Tongy Station. I strongly oppose installation of turbines that will have an impact on aviation safety.

As there is limited access to Coolah via YCAH there is no practical way to reach the township of Coolah via air. Any negative impact that the installation of wind turbines in the vicinity of the existing airfield infrastructure at Tongy Station will have a detrimental effect on its continued use and safety.

Thank you for considering my submission.

Regards,

Nicholas Oxley.

As I live in the city my visits to Coolah are very special given the natural scenery especially from ridges where you can see trees and farmland forever. I am shocked to learn that there are projects underway to dominate this area with 370 plus 250 metre high wind turbines. This will undoubtedly bring the associated infrastructure of gigantic transmission towers and substations. The Coolah community is already playing its part with renewable energy with the Tilt wind farm, why totally impair the environment and social fabric of the community by adding another 148 giant wind turbines? The Valley of the Winds wind farm is not in the public interest.

The visual impact on the town of Coolah and the local landowners will be catastrophic. The local fauna will be driven away by the sound 370 plus turbines, the crackling of transmission lines and shadow flicker of blades. Trading conservation credits with the conservation fund will not bring this area back to life.

As a visitor of the scenic Coolah District I find it particularly unfair for one rural district to be overwhelmed and by two giant wind farm developments. The city areas that demand renewable power should be prepared to host their own wind farms, such as Vaucluse and the Northern Beaches in Sydney. The UPC/AC wind farm at Coolah is not benefiting anyone at Coolah except the landholders hosting turbines and UPC/AC.

The wind farm is going to cause issues for RAAF aircraft trying to conduct low level training in their western airspace. The airspace to conduct low flying is already very limited and these wind farms will further restrict the training airspace.

To Whom it may concern,
My name is Jason Veale and I am the owner of Pine Ridge ,along with my wife Nikki Veale .We trade as Pine Ridge Cattle Pty Ltd .We have owned Pine Ridge for 18 Months and bought the farm for many reasons.We operate the farm primarily for beef cattle fattening and also as a cattle producer .We have some cropping underway and will be broadening the scope of this over the years .We bought pine ridge for its natural beauty .It is a stunning property that has views from all directions and immediately fell in love with the extraordinary beauty and scenery that exists in all directions from our farm .The prospect then of having all of this natural beauty and uninterrupted farming country ,destroyed by the construction of 148 Wind Turbines is utterly devastating .We will be able to see and feel the impact of the said wind towers from many areas on Pine Ridge .From our Trig point ,every wind turbine will be in clear site which will be shocking .North to Mount Hope ,East to Girragulang and then South East to the Leadville Cluster.From many locations throughout the property these wind turbines will be clearly visible and offer a terrible blight on the landscape and superb scenery .I feel very strongly that the 220 odd wind Turbines approved on the Liverpool Range is more than enough for this area .I also feel for other farmers and particularly the residents of Coolah who will have these towers so close and so invasive to their town .I do not begrudge land owners who have been persuaded by the money to have these Turbines on their farms but its such a shame because it will divide the community and it removes the need to farm and look after the land and stock due to the income stream from the Wind Turbines.
There is no question that our farm and other farms will be devalued by this plan to construct the wind turbines .The notion that a 2009 report done ,based on a few small towers is being used to support this project is extraordinary .The scale of these Turbines is a juxtaposition in the most extreme manner for our region .They are enormous and create a heavy Industrial scene in a beautiful farming community .These towers only operate in certain wind conditions and my understanding is that the European expansion is no longer land based but offshore which I think is a very sound concept .
I welcome anybody from the project to come to our property and see the extent of the visual destruction that will occur if this project proceeds .I intend to do everything in my powers to mitigate the scale, intrusion and the despair that this project will inflict on our community .
Kind Regards
Jason and Nikki Veale

It appears that the NSW Government, in conjunction with numerous foreign owned companies, is ruining rural NSW with wind farms and transmission lines in order to transmit power to populations in cities on the Eastern Seaboard. If wind is the new way to generate power why not put these modern power stations off the coast? The wind is more consistent and less distance to transmit the power. Or maybe the reason there are no off shore wind turbines on the NSW coast is because people don’t want to look at them? Or hear them? Or witness the bird destruction? This saddens me as a visitor of this beautiful region and I feel terrible on behalf of all the small family business who provide a valid contribution to the feeding of the Nation. Yet don’t seem to get much of a consideration due to the small population.

The proposed UPC/AC Valley of the Winds wind farm is going to have a devastating visual impact on several scenic
areas around Coolah. The south eastern side will be overwhelmed by giant turbine machines, from the Black Stump Way to Tongy Lane, the Coolah and Turee Creek valleys will be transformed from lovely scenic vistas into an industrial zone of giant towers, steel
and transmission wires. This giant wind farm proposal should at the very least be dramatically scaled back to a reasonable level.

I elect to make a submission in relation to the VoW on the basis of being the landholder of a Non Hosting Neighboring property at the northern end of the Girragalang cluster.
I have read VoW EIS and would like to address this submission directly in relation to towers located at the northern end of the cluster and identified as within 3-4km zone of our residence towers BS34,35,36,46.
Firstly we would comment on the visual impact of these specific towers being in our direct line of site. These towers are identified as being 250mt in height located on the hilltops within 3-4km of our residence, resembling the height of Centrepoint tower at 300mts which will certainly impact our visual amenity.
We have sought advice from an independent valuer whom confirms the negative impact these towers present on our land values and more so, the sale ability of our property with the towers being so close to our residence.
The more concerning aspect of the EIS is the noise report prepared by Marshal Day Acoustic Report - Appendix 4. This report by the authors own admission is preliminary only and is based on certain input criteria and assumption. The report identifies our dwelling as located in a continuous 35dB zone which is at the upper limits of acceptable standards if the report remains correct. I would like to point out that we live in a rural environment and do not have continuous ambient noise levels as opposed to city dwellings and 35dB or more to us, is significant. The most concerning part of this noise report is the fact that tonality (whistling and humming sounds) infrasound (low frequency noise) have not been assessed in this report, these two issues are important for health reasons. It is from the above that our family have genuine concerns for our visual amenity, mental and physical wellbeing in relation to the continuous noise levels tonality and low frequency issues yet to be understood.
In relation to the above concerns, we respectfully request consideration be given to the relocation of the towers within 3-4 km zone of our residence to the southern end of Girragalang cluster still within the wind farm development site, and away from our residence and alleviating some of the visual and perhaps health concerns, or deleted altogether.
Please understand that we and our immediate neighbours are in a position of least to gain and most to be impacted from this development. We are only seeking that our lives and lifestyle are not adversely compromised by this development.
We trust you will give our submission fair and reasonable consideration.

Visual impact
Unknown affect on value of land and potential impacts on sale of land
Surrounded by industrial estate in a non urban environment
Concerns on the ability to fight bushfires within the confines of the Wind farm and surrounding properties

I have lived and travelled in the valley of the Winds for many years and consider a wind farm in this area to be nothing but environmental vandalism. What will happen to the future food production from this region? Who will want to live there? How many birds will be destroyed? Take the turbines to non productive areas if you must have them.

I hereby object to the proposed project for the following reasons:
1. Project Layout with connection to the state transmission network as part of the REZ:
The project layout map in the EIS indicates a proposed ‘Transgrid REZ connector study corridor’ to the south of the Valley of the Winds footprint. This is in direct contrast to that published by EnergyCo in March 2022 (Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (nsw.gov.au), where the location of the proposed corridor is to the NorthEast of the project footprint and overlays the Girragulang Road and Leadville clusters.

The lack of reference for connection to the updated proposed connector study corridor in the EIS omits opportunity for feedback on significant potential impacts to the proposed 550kv lattice towers, including the local landscape (visual), agricultural activities, groundwater risk, proximity to residential dwellings, and the cumulative impacts to the district.

2. Water access:
Section 13.3.3 states groundwater extraction is not proposed for the project, however section 13.3.4 does reference the three possible water sources for construction are town water, farm dams and treated wastewater from commercial suppliers.

The town water source at Coolah is by bore, and thereby draws from the groundwater terrestrial and subterranean system, as mapped by the BOM Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems (GDE) Atlas. This is in conflict with the EIS proposal.

In addition, farm dams rely on surface water and terrestrial groundwater systems (ie. springs/soaks in the landscape) and are also tied to the terrestrial groundwater ecosystem.

Access to ground water in the region is administered through NSW Water, yet no reference could be identified within the EIS as to this entity. Current priority for water licencing is for town water security, stock and domestic purposes, and irrigation in that order.

There is a risk that if the project construction accesses groundwater locally there will be impacts on these existing licensed water sources. This may also contribute to a cumulative impact if construction of the Liverpool Range Wind Farm and Valley of the Winds Farm are occurring concurrently, and in particular during a period of low rainfall years (deciles 1-4).

3. Property value risk:
It is noted in the EIS that RE-Alliance and EnergyCo will be lobbied to fund research into the impacts of property value risk. This needs to include the cumulative impact of the REZ policy for the district around Coolah-Cassilis-Dunedoo-Gulgong, encompassing both Renewable Energy project impacts and the EnergyCo transmission network scheme infrastructure.

4. Environment:
A. Section 17.1.3 LSP: the Central West Local Land Services Local Strategic Plan (LSP) needs to be updated to refer to the latest document (ie 2022-2026). It also needs to refer to the LSP for Central Tablelands and Hunter LLS districts, given these regions are within 10-20km of the project footprint site.
B. Weeds and Pest Management:
i. Weeds: funding needs to be provided for weed management through the Local Control Authority (LCA) (which is incorrectly referenced in the EIS). The Castlereagh Macquarie County Council, under agreement by the Warrumbungle Shire Council is the LCA. The EIS needs to detail weed management during construction and operations, in reference to the Central West Weed Action Plan and to comply with biosecurity legislation. Currently the EIS only specifies weed management during construction in the Management/Mitigation Measures table (LU4).
ii. Pests: reference for pest management is omitted in the EIS, but will be required as part the Central West Regional Pest Animal Management Plan and biosecurity legislation during construction and operations.
The cost of weed and pest management should be in partnership with the landholder and the windfarm proponent, and not solely born by the landholder.

C. Natural Capital: Section 15.1.1 has no reference to the value of Natural Capital. Given the NSW Government has released a ‘Natural Capital Statement of Intent’ (April 2022), the purpose to ‘integrate natural capital considerations in ….decision making’, should be included in the EIS.

5. Cumulative impacts:
it is noted cumulative impacts are discussed in relation to the Liverpool Range Wind Farm and more broadly in reference to the REZ policy. However, there is lack of information for the gathering of evidence with metrics, monitoring and mitigation strategies, other than on cumulative noise of the wind turbines during operation from the two wind farms. The cumulative impacts need to be inclusive of social, environmental and agricultural industry factors.

6. Social Impacts:
Section 15 excludes assessments on the communities of Gulgong, Cassilis and Mudgee, although they are noted elsewhere within the EIS as communities connected to the project. The SIA needs to be broadened to include these communities and surrounding residents and industry.

7. Fire Risk and Management:
The EIS references the Bushfire Emergency Management Operation Plan (BEMOP), and detail with on-ground firefighting capacity. However, aerial firefighting capacity is omitted, but is essential for the type of terrain in the project area, as demonstrated by evidence into the review of the Sir Ivan Dougherty Bushfire (2017).

8. Aerial activities:
Reference is made in the EIS to risk to aircraft based on turbulence and nearby landing strips. However, impact to agricultural activities is omitted in the EIS.

It is essential for agricultural production that aerial services remain unimpeded by any impacts such as turbine locations and height. Aerial services (ie aeroplanes) are required for sowing pastures, pesticide and herbicide applications, fertiliser applications and mustering, and pest control for feral species (eg. pigs, deer). Drones are also required for animal welfare monitoring, mustering and biomass monitoring.

As regular visitor to the area I am appalled by the plan to turn this beautiful rural landscape into an industrial zone with 250 metre high wind turbines, 80 metre high transmission towers, multiple transmission lines and substations so big they require 50 ha of land. The UPC/AC Valley of the Winds project is not in the public interest, likely only in the interest of UPC/AC and the land hosts for wind turbines.

It appears that all the people living in Coolah, Leadville and Uarbry and the surrounding areas have a great deal to lose if this proposed wind farm goes ahead.

For example I don’t believe the meaningless statements in the EIS properly consider the Electromagnetic impacts. The Turee Creek Valley is an area of very poor mobile phone coverage, page 14 (Appendix J) suggests that if mobile coverage is impacted then this can be mitigated by “the user moving a short distance to a new or high location to receive a clearer signal or by using an external antenna to improve signal strength”. UPC/AC are obviously ignorant of the lengths the residents of this valley currently go to in order to attempt mobile phone access: they have external aerials, mobile signal boosters, and Telstra installed mobile phone aerials on nearby ridges and yet still poor mobile reception. There is not much more an individual can do to achieve a mobile phone signal. The residents in the Turee Creek Valley cannot afford any further erosion of the mobile phone signal in this area.

Likewise UPC/AC demonstrate their lack of interest and ignorance in the use of UHF Radio. UHF radios are the only communication tool available, to those working outdoors, in the Turee Creek Valley . Again UPC/AC use the same mitigation efforts, these same mitigation efforts appear ad nauseum through appendix J “move short distance to a new or high location…..etc”.

One of the dwellings in the Turee Creek Valley is not even listed in the entire EIS documentation. This dwelling is well under the 5 km from the nearest turbine. There are many houses in the 10 km zone from both the Tilt Liverpool Range wind farm and the UPC/AC Valley of the Winds wind farm, including the entire town of Coolah, and the villages of Leadville and Uarbry. When will the detailed assessment be undertaken to determine the cumulative impact on the DTV signals at all of these dwellings?

Appendix J overlooks any 500kv transmission line that is currently being studied to connect the UPC/AC Valley of the Winds and the Tilt Liverpool Range project to the New England Renewable Energy Zone and Central West Renewable Energy Zone. As a direct result of the Coolah community hosting 370 plus turbines more power infrastructure will inevitably follow. Please provide details on the direct impacts of corona discharge and the subsequent audible noise, visible light and electromagnetic radiation.

Regarding Table 9 in Appendix J, summary of EMI assessment for the proposed project. When will the recommended consultations be undertaken? One would hope that these consultations are undertaken well before the EIS is further processed by DPE. When will consultation be undertaken with the dwellings listed as potentially having their satellite internet and television impacted? Given than there is at least one dwelling not even listed in the EIS and another dwelling listed as being associated with the UPC/AC proposed project when this is not the case, it is difficult to have faith in any due diligence conducted by UPC/AC.

From the information provided by UPC/AC in the EIS it would appear that every house in the township of Coolah, plus the villages of Leadville and Uabry will be negatively impacted by the UPC/AC Valley of the winds proposed project in conjunction with the already determined Tilt Liverpool Range Wind farm.