Minister and developers at odds over timeline for contested Robbins Island wind project

A major discrepancy has emerged in the forecast development timeline for the 900 megawatt Robbins Island wind farm, after its developers suggested the newly EPBC-approved project could start generating power as early as 2030.

The long-delayed and highly contentious project was given the all-clear by federal environment minister Murray Watt on Friday, after a years-long wait in the queue, interspersed by planning appeals and legal challenges.

In a statement issued late on Friday, Acen Australia said that, with a separate approvals process for the wind farm’s transmission line expected to be completed in 2026, the project could start generating power in 2030. 

But in his own statement announcing the approval of Robbins Island – and presumably factoring in the long and detailed list of conditions attached to the EPBC approval – minister Watt said the project was not expected to begin construction until 2031.

In a statement provided to Renew Economy on Monday, a spokesperson for minister Watt’s office said the “ultimate timing” of construction was a matter for Acen to decide, but added that this would hinge on first meeting conditions set out in the project approval.

“The approval holder cannot commence construction until all management plans incorporating specific measures to avoid and mitigate impacts to protected species have been approved by the minister, and all pre-commencement surveys have been completed,” the statement says.

As Renew Economy reported on Friday, one of the conditions set out by Watt requires Acen to conduct a “comprehensive survey for three years prior to construction” on the Orange-bellied Parrot, including recording how the endangered bird uses and flies over the island, to inform ongoing risk management during operations.

Renew Economy is seeking comment from Acen Australia on the discrepancy between the projected timelines for development from the company and the federal government.

In its statement on Friday, Acen said it was working through the detailed EPBC approval conditions “to understand their implications for project design and ongoing environmental monitoring,” while continuing preparations for the transmission proposal, scheduled for assessment in 2026. 

Acen also noted that last week’s federal green tick – a decision whose deadline was pushed out seven times by respective federal environment ministers – follows more than eight years of assessment by all levels of government, including detailed studies of the island’s natural values.  

“This has produced the most comprehensive understanding of its plants and animals to date, giving confidence the project can proceed and manage any environmental risks,” Acen said. 

Meanwhile, one of the wind farm’s most vocal and vehement opponents, the Bob Brown Foundation, has pledged to pay $10,000 to a wildlife rescue organisation if the federal government keeps its promise that the project will harm no protected birds or Tasmanian Devils.

Australian Greens founder and former leader, and the foundation’s namesake, Bob Brown, in return challenged Watt to promise to donate $10,000 for any protected bird or animal injured or killed by the wind farm’s construction or operation.

“He’s made a guarantee to the Australian people that the project will ‘safeguard’ species facing extinction,” Brown said in Hobart on Monday.

“If he’s honest and the word ‘safeguard’ is valid, he should take up our offer. ‘Safeguard’ means to ‘protect something so that they are not harmed, damaged, or lost.

“Ordinary punters may think that Watt riddled his announcement on the Robbins Island wind farm with spin, lies and greenwash. Here’s a great way to show that he’s not a fake minister for the environment,” Brown said.

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