RESIDENTS around the Capital and Woodlawn wind farms will be invited to provide detailed input to the NSW Government’s audit of the state’s three government-approved and operating wind farms.
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The audit, announced by Planning and Infrastructure Minister Brad Hazzard in February, started last week and includes noise monitoring by an independent consultant as well as a questionnaire sent to 119 landowners.
Goulburn MP Pru Goward said the questionnaire, which has been sent to landowners within 4km of each wind farm, would ensure community input played an important and integral part in the audit process.
“Residents will also have the opportunity to meet with the auditors if they wish to discuss any concerns,” she said.
As well as noise, the audit will look into other issues such as visual amenity, flora and fauna impacts, shadow flicker and electromagnetic interference.
The department has appointed Renzo Tonin and Associates Pty Ltd, to undertake the noise monitoring component of the audit.
The company has conducted wind farm noise monitoring for community groups and wind farm operators but has not carried out monitoring or assessment work on the three wind farms being audited.
“Independence is the number one criterion in doing work of this kind,” Ms Goward said.
CORRECTION:
Your article “Wind farm audit questionnaires” (Goulburn Post, 7/5/12) unfortunately misquotes my media release about the start of a NSW Government audit of the Capital, Woodlawn and Cullerin Range wind farms, that includes a survey of nearby landowners.
In discussing the independence of the consultant engaged to carry out the audit’s noise monitoring work, the article appears to have omitted one very important word: “not”. It should have said that the noise consultant “has NOT carried out monitoring or assessment work on the three wind farms being audited”.
Nor in fact has the consultant done any work for either of the wind farm operators on any other facilities.
As the article then goes on to correctly quote me as saying – “independence is the number one criterion in doing work of this kind” – and readers can be assured that the NSW Government has put this vital independence firmly in place.
Yours sincerely,
Pru Goward
