A wind-farm company - NEOEN - is seeking approval to develop a large wind-farm on the coast side of the road between Mt Richmond and Nelson.
The location and scale of a wind farm can set certain green values directly against other green values. This one certainly does!
This wind farm would sit right in the middle of a key conservation area, separating the Glenelg River and Discovery Bay RAMSAR-listed wetlands. It is right beside three National Parks. Turbines are dangerous for high-flying fauna such as wedge-tailed eagles, brolgas and bitterns, or the critically endangered southern Bent-Wing Bat.
The site is also adjacent or very near to several conservation reserves, with high biodiversity values. The reserves include
- Lower Glenelg Ntional park
- Discovery Bay Coastal park
- Cobboboonee National park
- Glenelg Estuary and Discovery Bay RAMSAR Site.
The 105 turbines would each be 270m high and located along 30 kilometers of high ground overlooking Discovery Bay. To help give a sense of the scale of the wind farm, part of the location is shown below, taken from Whites Beach. The ridge line here is about 130m above sea level. The turbines located along it would be twice as high again. The visual change to this coast would be radical, and inescapable.
The Victorian Government is now seeking feedback on this proposal, via an online survey.
If this coast is important to you, and the impacts are concerning, please consider providing a submission. This can be as simple and short as a couple of sentences in the survey, or as complicated as you like. The important thing now is to show that people want this precious coastline protected.
Submissions must be made in writing and be received by 11.59pm on Monday 31 March 2025. Submissions can be lodged via the Victorian Government’s Engage Victoria website. Enter the following into your search engine: engage.vic.gov.au/Kentbruck-IAC
This will take you to a survey that asks for your details and allows you to make a simple submission via a textbox, or if you wish - upload a more detailed document.
We thank you for your submissions!