Oaklands Hill Wind Farm.

FAQs

About the project

Q: What is the AGL Oaklands Hill Wind Farm Project and where will it be located?

A: The $200m AGL Oaklands Hill Wind Farm Project is made up of 32 wind turbines located on 2,323 hectares of freehold agricultural land 3km south of Glenthompson, near Hamilton in Western Victoria.

The wind farm will be located on eight properties that are predominately used for sheep and cattle grazing. The location was chosen for its high potential wind harvesting capacity.

The AGL Oaklands Hill Wind Farm will generate 63 MW of power annually - enough clean, green energy to power approximately 35,000 average Australian households per year, with a greenhouse gas emission savings of over 185,000 tonnes per annum.

Q: What sort of environment is the Oaklands Hill Wind Farm located in?

A: The Oaklands Hill Farm site is located about 3km south of the township of Glenthompson in Western Victoria and covers an area of approximately 7km (east to west) by 5km (north to south).

The site is located within the Farming Zone (ZF) under the Southern Grampians Planning Scheme and is not covered by any Overlays.

The project site consists of a series of rolling hills on large land holdings. Farming activities across the site are principally sheep and cattle farming which is well supported with fertile soils, comparatively regular rainfall. Wind speed and consistency has been measured over a number of years which provides very accurate information which has facilitated AGL's investment decision.

The town of Glenthompson is part of the Shire of Southern Grampians. The wind farm will benefit Glenthompson and surrounding communities providing employment opportunities and business growth during construction and throughout the life of the farm through both increased money being spent locally and employment opportunities.

Q: Is this the right investment for this area?

A: There are many factors that need to be taken into account before a considerable investment such as a wind farm can be considered for construction. These factors include but are not limited to:

Wind Quality
Correctness of landscape and zone
Alignment with state and local government strategies
Availability of existing infrastructure
Approvals from state and local government plus approvals by statutory authorities
Investment approval by the AGL Board of Directors.

AGL has a proud history of sound investment decisions involving wind farms and other zero emission power generation. We also have a proven track record of sound management practices in fragile environments including our Hydro Schemes in the Victorian Alpine National Park and ownership and operation of the Heritage Listed 'Rubicon Hydro Scheme'. Further, AGL continues significant and ongoing investment in the Hallett region of South Australia through constructing and operating wind farms in that region.

The Oaklands Hill Wind Farm provides the Southern Grampians area with a long term investment - supporting the Shires' Municipal Strategic Statement through the project's location and opportunity to create employment and other local opportunities.

Q: What process was required before the Wind Farm was approved for construction?

A: The planning process for the AGL Oaklands Hill Wind Farm involved the following:

In 2005, a Joint Venture between Investec bank and Windlab Systems conducted preliminary investigations and prepared a proposal to seek regulatory approval to construct a wind farm at Oaklands Hill.
In 2006, the Department of Environment and Heritage issued confirmation that the proposed development was not considered a controlled action under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999 (EPBC Act).
In 2007, the Department of Planning confirmed that an Environmental Effects Statement (EES) was not required for this project. The Permit Application 2007/0370 was submitted and was 'called in' by the Minister for Planning and the Minister Appointed Panel to deal with objections or submissions in accordance with 'calling in' procedures. The Panel Hearing, part 1 was conducted.
In 2008, the Panel Hearing, part 2 conducted and the Panel Report issued, the Cultural Heritage Management Plan was issued, the Application for Native Vegetation Removal Permit submitted and the Planning Permit was issued by Minister for Planning.
In 2009, approval to remove Native Vegetation from Shire of Southern Grampians was received.

Construction

Q: When will Oaklands Hill Wind Farm be built and become operational?

A: AGL has entered into an Engineer, Design and Construct contract with Suzlon Energy Australia. Suzlon are the principal contractor at the site and began 'pre-mobilisation' activities in January 2010.

Construction in earnest will begin in the 1_st half of 2010 and be completed Q4 of 2011.

During construction, up to 80 personnel will be engaged directly in site activities, with many others benefitting from these activities.

Following construction, the wind farm has a design life of 25 years. During this time a small crew of personnel will be permanently stationed at the site for routing and ongoing maintenance and operational work, with additional resources called in from time to time to support scheduled busy periods of maintenance.

Q: What will the construction hours be?

A: Normal working hours for noisy construction activities will be between 6am and 6pm, Monday to Saturday. However, construction outside these hours may be required for turbine erection and concrete pours that require cooler, ambient conditions.

Nights provide these more ambient conditions, so some works may be undertaken outside normal working hours to optimise safety on site. Any night works will be restricted to low-noise activities. Local residents will receive at least 48 hours notification prior to any out-of-hours construction. Wherever practical, there may be some construction works on Sundays and Public Holidays.

Q: How many trucks will use the local roads?

A: An anticipated 1400 truck journeys will be undertaken for the project, with the majority of turbine components arriving in the second half of 2010.

A survey of all local roads to be used by project vehicles has been undertaken and these roads will be reinstated to the same or better condition at the end of the construction period. Construction work will be undertaken entirely on the project site, using access tracks constructed with local materials.

Q: How many turbines will there be and what will they look like?

A: There will be 32 SUZLON S88 turbines at the AGL Oaklands Hill Wind Farm with a capacity of 2.1MW each. The total output from the wind farm cannot exceed 63MW, which allows for at least one turbine to be off line at any time for service or maintenance.

The turbine towers will be 80m high. The rotor blades are approximately 50m in length, and span approximately 88m when affixed in a set of three. The maximum blade tip height will be 124m.

The nacelle is located at the top of the tower, behind the blades, and houses the gear box, electric motor and associated mechanical equipment.

The diagram below illustrates the scale of the turbines that will be constructed at the AGL Oaklands Hill Wind Farm.

Turbines will be constructed of materials that minimize the visual impact on the landscape, including coloured finishes that blend with the landscape and which are non-reflective.

The concrete footings will be approximately 20m in diameter and will be underground, allowing for maximum turbine stability.

Q: When are deliveries of overseas loads due to commence?

A: The Main Transformer will be delivered in early Jan 2010, week ending 14th.

The Switchyard Equipment will be delivered during Jan & Feb 2011, although most is not over dimensional

Wind Turbine components (Towers, nacelles, blades) will commence in March 2011 through to end of May 2011.

Q: How many loads per day are scheduled?

A: At the peak transport time, an average of ten (10) over dimensional loads will be delivered each weekday, with minor loads on weekends dependent on schedule.

Q: Will commuter peak hours be avoided in the delivery schedule?

A: Delivery will comply with the requirements of VicRoads. As such, these will be organised to minimise impacts on local schools, peak traffic movement times, vehicle noise on residents, and dangerous driving times such as dawn and dusk.

Q: Are all the loads escorted either with police or pilot cars?

A: All loads will be escorted. Depending on the loads, these will have a minimum of 2 pilots, with some loads also requiring either or both the local police and VicRoads authorised pilots.

All over sized loads shall have a valid permit issued by VicRoads, which shall designate the escort requirements of the load.

Q: How many overseas loads in total are planned?

A: The total will be approximately 300 VicRoads permitted loads.

Q: When will the process be complete?

A: Load movements will commence in January 2011 for the substation, and March 2011 for Wind Turbine components. All load movements will be concluded by June 2011.

Environmental

Q: Will native vegetation need to be removed?

A: Native vegetation only occurs in a very limited number of places at the wind farm site, and these areas have been clearly identified. The design of the Wind Farm has taken the survey results in to consideration with the result being that minimal removal will be necessary.

The Native Vegetation Removal Permit issued contains strict provisions about what vegetation may be removed from where, and this also requires us to offset native vegetation removal where removal exceeds designated levels. AGL will work with the Department of Sustainability and Environment to ensure compliance with the permit.

Q: This area has a history of issues relating to salinity. Will salinity be impacted by constructing or operating the wind farm?

A: Throughout the permitting process, many representations have been made regarding concerns that construction and operation of the wind farm will increase current salinity levels.

Since purchasing the development rights to this project, AGL has commissioned an additional assessment and report regarding the potential impact by the wind farm to the existing salinity issues. The report confirms that neither construction nor operation of the wind farm will impact or accelerate salinity.

As a requirement of the Planning Permit, AGL is required to prepare a Salinity Management Program that identifies locations and types of trees that landowners may plant to address salinity issues.

Further, AGL are contributing $10,000 per annum to a salinity management program as required by the planning permit. This contribution is CP Indexed and will run for the duration of the wind farm project (construction and operation).

Q: This area has fragile soils and mistreatment can result in erosion. Will erosion be impacted by constructing or operating the wind farm?

A: Throughout the permitting process, many representations have been made regarding concerns that construction and operation of the wind farm cause potentially irreparable erosion damage.

Since purchasing the development rights to this project, AGL has commissioned an additional assessment and report regarding the potential impact by the wind farm to erosion of the local soils.

The report confirms that the impact by the wind farm is equivalent to the current agricultural management techniques used by professional farmers and in place today.

As a requirement of the Planning Permit, AGL has a Sediment, Erosion and Water Quality Management Plan in place for constructing the wind farm. The plan must be prepared in consultation with the Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority and endorsed by the Minister for Planning prior to construction commencing.

Q: Will my TV and radio reception be negatively impacted?

A: Wind Turbines can interfere with TV and radio reception, and because of this the Planning Permit requires that a pre and post construction survey is conducted. Measurements of reception quality at properties around the wind farm (prior to construction commencing) has been conducted including at neighbouring properties where approval has been granted. Following completion of construction, we will conduct the same measurements, and if signal deterioration is observed and there is an impact to reception as a result of the wind farm, then AGL must undertake measures to make good.

Q: Will agricultural farming activities be impacted by the wind farm?

A: Building a Wind Farm requires a lot of construction activity. This activity consists of making access tracks on leased land, areas for the safe use of cranes and other construction equipment, office, amenities and storage areas and concrete manufacturing facility.

To ensure the WTG”s and other infrastructure are adequately supported, foundation holes are required to be formed and then filled with concrete and supporting structures.

The construction work does impact farming activities, however all work is conducted on land that is leased from the land owners. There is no impact to farming activities on neighbouring properties.

Once the Wind Farm is built and construction equipment removed, farming activities can carry on as before.

Also during construction, increased traffic, changed speed limits and additional signage will be required to ensure that construction activities do not present an increased risk to the community and those who visit the area.

Q: Will the wind turbines impact birds and other wildlife?

A: While wind turbines, like many tall man-made structures, present a collision risk to birds and bats, a report (Wind Energy -The Myths and the Facts- Sustainability Victoria 2006) advises that at time of writing, no rare, threatened or endangered species have been killed as a result of wind turbines in Victoria. During the planning process surveys of land based fauna have also been conducted.

From these surveys, specific considerations have been given to habitat for the 'Striped Legless Lizard' and Brolgas and Bats as these have been identified as the fauna most likely to be impacted by the wind farm.

As a result, wind turbines and other infrastructure will not be placed in areas nominated as areas where the 'Striped Legless Lizard' has been sighted through formal recognised surveys that have been considered in the Planning Permit and AGL will implement a Bat and Avifauna Management Plan also as required by the Planning Permit.

Q: Will the Wind Farm impact on areas of Cultural Significance?

A: The general area around Glenthompson and beyond does contain areas of cultural significance. This includes archaeological sites associated with Indigenous Australians plus areas of European significance - in particular the Major Mitchell Trail.

Substantial investigation has taken place and detailed mapping prepared identifying areas of cultural significance. The wind farm design has taken account of this information and infrastructure associated with the wind farm will not impact these areas.

As an added insurance, agreements and processes are in place to ensure that if any archaeological artefacts are discovered during construction, that this is reported immediately to registered and relevant groups so that appropriate investigations and recommendation may be made.

Q: Will the turbines frighten sheep and other animals?

A: Wind turbines do not have any noticeable impact on livestock. Animals such as cattle and sheep habitually graze around the wind turbines undisturbed. In fact on hot summer days you will regularly see cattle and sheep lining up in the shade of the turbine towers.

Q: Will the turbines be noisy?

A: A detailed assessment of the potential impacts of noise from the AGL Oaklands Hill Wind Farm has been undertaken by specialist noise consultants. The assessment was based on the Victorian Government requirements that noise levels at residential dwellings should not exceed the background noise level by more than 5dBA or a level of 40dBA, whichever is greater. The AGL Oaklands Hill Wind Farm must meet this standard.

At the time of assessment, and consistent with the Planning Permit allowance, this assessment was based on the installation of 43 WTG's. AGL will be installing 32 WTG's only as part of this project, meaning any noise levels will likely be even lower than assessed.

Post construction, AGL will undertake a noise monitoring program to ensure that noise levels comply with the planning permit conditions.

Q: What about Infrasound?

A: Studies have confirmed that Infrasound from Wind Farms is less than that caused through naturally occurring means.

The studies conclude that there are no plausible links to adverse health from infrasound emanating from wind turbines.

Q: What about the visual impact of the turbines?

A: People's perception of the visual impact of wind turbines can vary greatly. Some people find the prospect of direct views to be pleasing, while others do not like the look of the turbines in the landscape.

There are strict planning guidelines relating to the visual impact of wind turbines on the local environment. Considerations include impact to existing views, colour, blade and shadow flicker, and many others.

The planning process undertaken has confirmed that the location, the design and the modelling conducted against the measurable criteria has ensured this development meets all requirements as set down in the appropriate standards, legislation and other limitations set by the Planning Permit.

Of particular note:

Visual impact is reduced by turbines being off white in colour (research shows meteorological conditions produce mostly cloudy days) and with carefully chosen plantings to screen local views.
Measures have been undertaken to reduce the visual impact, such as sensitive siting of turbines and landscaping of related infrastructure.
As part of the planning permit conditions, a detailed Landscaping and Visual Screening Plan is required to be prepared to provide landscaping or visual screening to reduce the visual impact of the wind turbines and the substations associated with the wind farm.
Specific landscaping plans include planting a mix of trees and shrubs to mitigate the views from nearby properties to the wind turbines and substation. These plans will be developed in consultation with nearby landowners, Council, and the Department of Sustainability and Environment.

Q: Will Aviation Safety lights be installed at Oaklands Hill Wind farm?

A: No.The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has confirmed that as a result of its location, no aviation lighting is required at Oaklands.

Q: What will happen when the wind farm reaches the end of its life?

A: The AGL Oaklands Hill Wind Farm is expected to have a base life of approximately 25 years.

After this time, the site will be reviewed and assessed to determine whether the wind farm may be upgraded with the latest turbine technology or otherwise decommissioned through a phased approach - dismantling the above ground equipment and then removing it from the site, and rehabilitating the site.

When a wind farm is decommissioned, the site can be returned to essentially the same state as it was before the wind farm was built.

Noise and Rates

Q: Are the road works and the accompanying noise and inconvenience a direct result of the wind farm location?

A: Although the road upgrade is largely due to the project the local residents were getting a much needed road upgrade.

Probably 99% of rural Victorians are calling on Governments at all levels to improve the road standards after a long period of neglect.

The wind farm development could therefore be considered a positive in the promotion of this road upgrade.

Q: Is the wind farm development the cause of your local SGSC rates increasing recently by around 7.5%?

A: Rate rises in other shires were considerably higher - up to 12.5% - and they were not caused by one upgrade but predominantly the result of increasing financial burdens placed on the councils by State and Federal Governments. Add in the fact that for some years now the State Government placed a rate cap on all shires and since the cap's removal there needed to be a series of rate rises as "catch ups" to maintain council projects.

The construction of the wind farm has zero effect on the general shire rates.

Q: Are the recent increase in power prices due to the introduction of clean energy projects such as the wind farm?

A: While alternative clean energy compared to dirty brown coal energy production is somewhat more expensive, the bulk of the rate increases can be attributed to the need to upgrade the power transmission line infrastructure, The transmission network has suffered from a lack of capital investment in recent history and with the:

increase in power demand caused by the greater use of electrical appliances (bigger TVs, air conditioners, computers, washing machines, dish washers, heaters etc) and
the building of larger houses (Australia has the largest average house size in the world) and
that every square takes more energy to build

The end result is that the power transmission grid does not have the capacity to take the increased demand.

Spotlight On...

Kad Wallis

Construction Project Manager,
Oaklands Hill Wind Farm