A map identifying which parts of Victoria are best suited to host future renewable energy projects has revealed that the wind farm “no go zones” introduced by former Coalition premier Ted Baillieu more than a decade ago are still in place.
VicGrid last week launched consultation on the draft Victorian Transmission Plan Guidelines, including the release of a mapped study identifying which parts of the state will be investigated further as part of a multi-stage process to establish new renewable energy zones.
The map uses colour-coded shading to rank which areas are being given the highest priority for further investigation as renewable development zones, and which are being “deprioritised” or ruled out, pending further consultation.
But the map also shows four “Victorian planning provision wind project exclusion areas,” highlighted in orange, that date back to when the then Coalition state government introduced what were the world’s most restrictive wind farm siting regulations.
“The orange areas … are areas of wind prohibition under the Victoria planning provisions, and that is a set of regulations that was introduced in Victoria 10 to 15 years ago by the Baillieu government,” VicGrid said in a briefing on Friday.
“[This] prohibits wind development in specific areas but doesn’t prohibit other types of power system development like transmission lines, and batteries or solar,” VicGrid says.
The planning amendments banned the development of wind farms in some of the windiest parts of the state, including the Macedon Shire and the McHarg ranges in the Yarra Valley, the Mornington and Bellarine peninsulas, and within five kilometres of the Great Ocean Road and the Bass Coast.
The amendments also prohibited the installation of turbines within 5km of 21 Victorian regional centres and gave households the power to veto wind turbines within 2km of their residence.
As Renew Economy reported at the time, these restrictions – alongside with the Abbott government’s efforts to wind back the national Renewable Energy Target – were disastrous for wind development in Victoria.
In 2013, Friends of the Earth estimated Baillieu’s anti-wind decisions cost the state around $887 million in lost or stalled investment, 650 direct jobs and a further 1,400 indirect jobs.
In the 12 months after the laws were introduced, as many as 14 Victorian wind farm proposals were rendered unlikely to proceed in the state, and no new proposals were announced.
Victoria is a long way from that place now. In 2015, newly elected Labor Premier Daniel Andrews moved to repeal the worst parts of the “VC82” suite of laws, reducing the household veto for a proposed wind turbine development from 2km to 1km from a dwelling, and returning development approval decisions to the office of the planning minister. The no-go zones remained, albeit with an exemption for community wind projects.
Under the now Allen Labor government, Victoria has legislated targets to transition its electricity supply to 65 per cent renewables by 2030 and 95 per cent by 2035. And last year, it handed control of transmission and REZ planning from the Australian Energy Market Operator to VicGrid, in recognition of the need to pay close and careful attention to community needs and concerns while meeting these targets.
Deep and genuine community consultation is particularly important in light of the anti-wind campaign being whipped up by the federal opposition, which preys on the genuine grievances and concerns of people whose communities are being courted by renewables developers.
As VicGrid emphasised during the briefing last week, the mapping of the study area is an early step which has been informed by a bespoke statewide strategic land use assessment that took into account community feedback, land use, environment and cultural heritage.
This will be narrowed down to smaller areas for investigation and eventually, proposed Renewable Energy Zones through further engagement and analysis, VicGrid says.
“While we’re starting our investigations broad, ultimately only a portion of the study area will be needed to host new energy infrastructure.”
The main areas of interest on the above map, shaded darker blue, are based on the combination of high opportunities and low constraints for wind and solar, VicGrid says, and will be given the highest priority for further investigation.
The medium dark blue shaded areas represent moderate-high opportunities and low-moderate constraints for development, with VicGrid noting that some of these areas are close to key locations where wind and solar can connect to the network.
The lighter blue shaded areas represent moderate opportunities and constraints and also include areas with higher opportunities and lower constraints but rate poorly in terms of ready access to the grid.
Finally there are deprioritised areas that a combination of low opportunity and hight constraint have all but ruled out of further investigation, as well as avoidance areas which VicGrid says are being highlighted early to protect sensitive land use and landscape value.
“We are changing the way energy infrastructure is delivered in Victoria and early and meaningful engagement is at the heart of our approach,” VicGrid CEO Alistair Parker says.
“We need the input of regional communities, farmers, landholders and First Peoples so we can get this right for all Victorians, reduce impacts and deliver real benefits.”
