The fate of the $3 billion 900 megawatt (MW) wind farm proposed for construction on Robbins Island off the north-west coast of Tasmania remains stuck in limbo, after federal environment minister Tanya Plibersek once again delayed a decision on the project – this time until after the federal election.
A notice published on Friday, but dated to March 05, says the minister’s decision on whether the Robbins Island wind farm needs full assessment under the EPBC Act has been extended to May 09, marking the fifth time the deadline has been pushed out since December 2022.
The new May date gives the minister another two months to consider the project being developed by Acen Australia, which just last week beat a Supreme Court bid to overturn its state environment approvals.
It effectively means the decision is pushed out till after the next election. Many expect the poll to be held on April 12, but that requires an announcement by this coming Monday, something that may no longer happen given the impact of Cyclone Alfred on Queensland and northern NSW.
If the poll is pushed back to May – May 17 is the last date – it means that the federal government will be in a caretaker period, it is required to hold off making major or significant decisions.
The decision to delay the call on Robbins Island comes just a day after Plibersek announced approvals for three big wind projects totalling more than 2.4 GW in NSW, including two – Liverpool Range and Hills of Gold – that have been heavily contested by local communities. Hills of Gold still face a court battle.
The decision to delay the EPBC call on Robbins Island for a fifth time coincides with the delivery of an open letter, signed by 26 community and green groups, calling on Plibersek to refuse environmental approvals for the contested project.
The letter argues that the environmental harm likely to result from the wind farm “significantly outweighs any economic benefit,” including through the risk of death and injury to wedge-tailed eagles, orange bellied parrots, other shore and migratory birds and to one of the few disease-free populations of Tasmanian devils.
“Installing wind turbines on Robbins Island threatens to cause irreversible damage to the environment, harming native species and destroying the scenic beauty of the island, as well as robbing Tasmania of a valuable opportunity to grow its tourism industry,” the letter says.
“We therefore urge you to deny approval of the Robbins Island wind farm.”
Leading the signatories is the Circular Head Coastal Awareness Network, which is the same group that led the recently defeated Supreme Court challenge against Robbins Island’s state environmental approvals.
Also putting their name to the letter is Environment Tasmania and the Bob Brown Foundation, a group named for the founder and former leader of the Australian Greens.
The Bob Brown Foundation has long argued that Robbins Island is the wrong place for a wind farm, while also questioning the economics of such a big project being built in Tasmania, where the electricity supply is already majority renewable.
“The only argument they have for destroying biodiversity is …’we can use the renewable energy.’ The question is, do we need that renewable energy from that particular site?,” former Greens leader Christine Milne and member of the Bob Brown Foundation told RenewEconomy last year.
“And is it economically viable to produce it from there or is there a feasible alternative? And in the case of Robbins Island, of course there are feasible alternatives.”
For Acen Australia, having had the project in the EPBC queue in one iteration or another since 2017, the new EPBC delay could take some of the shine off last week’s legal win.
The Supreme Court battle stemmed from the 2022 decision by Tasmania’s Environment Protection Authority to approve the wind farm – on the condition its 100 turbines were shut down for five months every year when the endangered orange bellied parrot migrates.
That decision was overturned after developer Acen Australia successfully appealed to the Tasmanian Civil Administrative Tribunal, only for TasCAT’s decision to be appealed in the Supreme Court by the EPA.
In a statement this week, however, Pollington remains upbeat about the project’s prospects, saying the company is confident Robbins Island will meet all necessary criteria to get up.
“Despite the delay, ACEN Australia is continuing critical preparatory work, including progressing the Transmission Line connection to ensure the project is ready to commence construction in 2026,” he said on Friday.
“The project continues to represent a transformative opportunity for Tasmania’s renewable energy future, delivering significant environmental, social and economic benefits,” he said on Friday.
“It is a $3 billion project expected to inject $600 million into the Tasmanian economy during construction, creating up to 400 jobs during the construction phase and 60 jobs when operational.”
Coming out in support of the wind farm is the Tasmanian Liberal government, with state energy minister Nick Duigan on Wednesday describing it as “vital for Tasmania.”
“It’s now becoming more and more clear that Minister Plibersek is planning to kick this can down the road until the election is called to make it someone else’s problem,” Duigan said before the new delay was confirmed.
“This decision can’t wait until after the election. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Tanya Plibersek need to give Robbins Island Wind Farm the certainty it needs to proceed today, instead of leaving it in limbo,” he said.
“The Tasmanian Liberal government backs this project to the hilt.”
Another group backing Robbins Island wind farm, Clean Energy Tasmania, on Friday described the continual federal-level delays as “completely unacceptable.”
“Clean Energy Tasmania believes Robbins Island stacks up,” Clean Energy Tasmania chair, Ian Jones, said in an emailed statement.
“It’s a great project that will help the state realise its clean energy potential, create jobs and drive investment.
“The federal government likes to talk about a clean energy transition and supporting renewables, yet they seem like they’re paralysed by indecision,” Jones said.
“Clean Energy Tasmania calls on Tasmania’s federal MPs to do everything they can to make sure Canberra understands this project is absolutely vital.”
