“They keep demanding information about the impact on marine life or the size of the wind farms,but that information does not exist yet because the zones have not been identified,so the studies have not begun.
“We are at about stage two of a six-stage proposal.”
A government-supplied artist’s impression of wind turbines 10 kilometres off Bulli Beach north of Wollongong.
Under this process,assessment of the potential environmental impact of an offshore wind farm will start once a feasibility licence has been granted. A project could only proceed should it be approved under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
Rorris says political actors and newcomers to Wollongong’s northern beaches “who have built their McMansions on top of coal miners’ shacks” are seeking to derail a process that has been going on for 15 years and has won the support of wharfies,coal miners,steelworkers,the local council and the University of Wollongong,as well as climate activists,Greenpeace and the Australian Conservation Foundation.
“We were told years ago that our area was carbon intensive and jobs here would be exposed in a transition. But we also learnt that the transition would need steel,and we told people to hold out. Now when a concrete project is in sight we get these people on the northern beaches who don’t even want to sacrifice their views to save the Earth.”
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Nellie Stephens,head of investigations for Greenpeace Australia,said the organisation had received many sincere requests for information about offshore wind from residents of both regions who loved the ocean and were concerned about potential impacts. “But we have also seen this exploited by political actors like Peter Dutton suddenly pretending to care about whales.”
She said that Greenpeace’s view was that all offshore development caused impacts on ocean environments,but exploration for and construction of offshore wind projects was far less damaging than the oil and gas industry,because sonar mapping of the ocean floor was far quieterthan the seismic blasting needed to find fossil fuels.
“Greenpeace supports renewable energy because it is the most important way to tackle climate change,which is the biggest threat to the oceans.”
Supporting protests against offshore wind in Nelson Bay last month,Dutton described the government’s goal of generating 82 per cent of electricity in the National Energy Market from renewable sources by 2030 as unfeasible. He raised eyebrows when he emphasised his concern for whales.
“When you look at the whales and the mother and the calf that we saw out there,the dolphins – all of that is at risk because there’s no environmental consideration of what these huge wind turbines,260 to 280 metres out of the water,will mean for that wildlife and for the environment.”
South Coast locals at a meeting to protest against any proposal for an offshore wind farm. Misinformation is flooding through the campaigns against the developments.Credit:AAP
The Australian Conservation Foundation’s chief executive,Kelly O’Shannessy,said there was ample evidence that whales swam around infrastructure built in oceans,such as oil rigs,and added she was sceptical about Dutton’s motivation.
His concern for whales reflects an ongoing political debate in the United States,where former president Donald Trump has endorsed groups opposing offshore wind farms championed by the Biden administration.
The Herald approached the Opposition Leader but was told he was travelling in India and unable to comment.
In Port Stephens,billboards have appeared bearing a photograph of a dead whale and a slogan calling for the proposed wind farm to be stopped,while at a protest against wind farms in Wollongong on Sunday some speakers reasserted misinformation about wind turbines that has been debunked time and again,such as the claim that theyemit dangerous “infrasound” or that theturbines’ lifespans are so brief as to negate their environmental benefits.
This masthead has seen social media posts regarding the Illawarra zone alleging without evidence that infrasound from windmills could harm whales,that surf will be reduced along the region’s famous beaches,that hang gliding at Stanwell Tops will be affected,and instructions on how to use AI to generate responses for the consultation process. Some posts have included links to materials created by Advance Australia,the conservative lobby group that had a prominent role supporting the campaign against the Voice to parliament.
Protests against wind farms link danger to whales,but there is no evidence that whales would be affected.Credit:AAP
Rorris has written to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen voicing his concern about what he sees as an effort to corrupt the consultation process,including social media posts that air offers of financial inducements for negative contributions to the public consultation process.
“We fully support the democratic right of all members in our community to hold different views and indeed to campaign around these issues,” he wrote. “What we find abhorrent,however,is the use of deliberate misinformation to not only divide communities but turn a consultation process about clean energy into a Trump-style circus driven by internet trolls and fuelled by fear that has been manufactured and imported.”
An example of one of the anti-windfarm social media posts being shared in Wollongong.Credit:Twitter
One person shocked by the tone of the debate is Wollongong resident Damien Toogood,who established the Facebook page Illawarra Wind Farms Discussion Group to facilitate a more balanced debate. He was shocked when one early contributor said he would like to see a prominent Australian businessman who supports climate action die.
But Toogood,who supports the transition to renewable energy,also believes the government has not made the process clear enough for residents and remains concerned about the potential offshore wind project.
“I want what is best for my son. I don’t want him to grow up in the hellscape of climate change,but on the other hand the option to exploit the last bastion,the oceans,needs careful consideration.”
Whatever happens off Australian coasts will not be clear for some years. The Department of Climate Change,Energy,the Environment and Water will consider submissions regarding the declared offshore wind zones over the coming months. Next year,Minister Bowen will decide whether to grant feasibility licences to developers for some or all of those zones.
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Should they be granted,developers could begin to undertake detailed environmental assessments,geotechnical surveys and further consultation on their proposals. They might then apply for commercial licences to begin construction later this decade.
Even if they leap each of those hurdles,they might still stumble. This week the offshore wind giant Orsted abandoned far more advanced plans for two of its US projects,citing increasing interest rates and costs.
Trump was thrilled. “The whales,which are dying in record numbers because of these wind scams,are very happy tonight,” he said.