The former leader of the Nationals, David Littleproud, says he has written to the LNP state planning minister in Queensland, asking that he “call in” an already approved wind project that has already begun early construction works in his own electorate.
Littleproud posted a video on Friday, saying he had written to state planning minister Jarrod Bleijie asking him to add the 436.5 megawatt (MW) Tarong West wind project, cied about 30 kms west of Kingaroy, to the growing list of “called in” projects, and to reject it.
Bleijie has already cancelled two wind projects – and boasted about it online with some delight – and called in another five projects, a mix of standalone battery and wind and battery hybrids.
One of those called in projects, Iberdrola’s proposed 2,000 MWh Gin Gin battery near Bundaberg, withdrew its application earlier this month and said it would start the process over again with local council.
“I’ve written to the Deputy Premier of Queensland Jarrod Bleijie to call in the Tarong West Wind Project, after being in the South Burnett last week, listening to the concerns about the workers camp at the airport, as well as the project itself,” Littleproud says in his video, posted on Friday.
“The workers camp doesn’t even have the support of the South Burnett Regional Council, and therefore the only place it can be is onsite at the Tarong West Wind Farm. The reality is that means it will have greater water impact, greater biosecurity impact, greater road impact.
“So the whole project at Tarong West should be called in and rejected by the Deputy Premier, and I’ve written to him to ask for him to give that.”
Littleproud posted another video complaining about the project a week ago, with ACDC song “Dirty deeds done dirt cheap” as the backing soundtrack.
He said many locals were protesting against the camp, and the wind project. Among those quoted by an ABC report were Karyn Bjelke-Peterson, the daught-in-law of the former premier.
According to the Couriel Mail, however, the local mayor has rejected the suggestion that council had not supported the workers camp, saying the DA for that part of the project was yet to be discussed.
In a statement published in July, council said it was concerned about “misleading information” in the public domain, and pointed out that it had offered the option of siting the workers camp on land near the Kingaroy Airport, to avoid problems near the project location itself.
“Recent comments in the public domain, regarding the worker’s accommodation development application, may be considered misleading and the governance of the project is sound,” it said.
Tarong West has already received state planning approval and federal environmental approval under the EPBC Act. Project developer RES Australia says early works began at the site in May, mostly geotechnical investigation works within the project site and on sections of public roads associated with the project.
The state owned generation company Stanwell had an option to buy the project, but declined it earlier this year – continuing a trend under the new LNP government, which has ripped up the state’s renewable energy targets and vowed to keep coal generators running, possibly into the 2050s.
Stanwell still has an option to buy the output of the Tarong West project, should it be built, while Innagreen Investments, a global renewable energy investor, has been confirmed as the new equity partner in the project.
Changes to the Queensland planning rules now put more power into the hands of local majors and regional councils, and at the Clean Energy Council Queensland Energy Summit this year, several mayors said they supported renewable projects but wanted to see more investment to support the local economies.
The issue around workers camps has been a hot issue. RES says Tarong West will require a workforce of up to 450 people during construction, and up to 15 permanent jobs once complete.
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