Submission to the Select Committee on Wind Turbines

Transcription

1 23 March 2015 The Secretary Select Committee on Wind Turbines PO Box 6100 Parliament House CANBERRA ACT 2600 By Dear Sir/Madam Submission to the Select Committee on Wind Turbines Vestas - Australian Wind Technology Pty Ltd (Vestas) has supplied around half of all the wind turbines installed in Australia. Our parent company in Denmark is the world's largest manufacturer of wind turbines, and has installed more than 52,000 wind turbines in 73 countries around the world. Vestas welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to the Select Committee on Wind Turbines. It is yet another opportunity for the Senate to put many of the false, defamatory and misleading claims of anti-wind energy groups under proper scrutiny. Vestas is a long-term global investor in this industry and we can see a solid pipeline of clean energy projects that will result in significant reductions in carbon pollution as well as more jobs in regional Australia jobs that are sorely needed. We are excited about the potential for renewable energy in Australia, and we are ready to build the projects needed to reach Australia s policy targets in this area. Terms of Reference The terms of reference for this Inquiry are as follows: 1. The application of regulatory governance and economic impact of wind turbines, with particular reference to: a. the effect on household power prices, particularly households which receive no benefit from rooftop solar panels, and the merits of consumer subsidies for operators; b. how effective the Clean Energy Regulator is in performing its legislative responsibilities and whether there is a need to broaden those responsibilities; c. the role and capacity of the National Health and Medical Research Council in providing guidance to state and territory authorities;

2 d. the implementation of planning processes in relation to wind farms, including the level of information available to prospective wind farm hosts; e. the adequacy of monitoring and compliance governance of wind farms; f. the application and integrity of national wind farm guidelines; g. the effect that wind towers have on fauna and aerial operations around turbines, including firefighting and crop management; h. the energy and emission input and output equations from whole-of-life operation of wind turbines; and i. any related matter. Our submission will be structured in line with these terms of reference. In addition, Vestas is a member of the Clean Energy Council ( CEC ), and we strongly endorse the CEC s submission to this Select Committee. (a) The effect on household power prices, particularly households which receive no benefit from rooftop solar panels, and the merits of consumer subsidies for operators Renewable energy comes at a lower price than most people think, and wind energy is a great example of this. The cost of wind energy continues to fall each year, and various agencies and analysts have charted these impressive cost reductions. Bloomberg New Energy Finance studies this more closely than just about anyone.

3 The 2014 report into the Renewable Energy Target (RET) from the panel chaired by Dick Warburton revealed that a cut to the RET would actually see power prices for households rise. (b) How effective the Clean Energy Regulator is in performing its legislative responsibilities and whether there is a need to broaden those responsibilities Vestas is an equipment supplier rather than a National Electricity Market participant or a registered entity under the Renewable Energy (Electricity) Act 2000 and thus does not have any significant contact with the Clean Energy Regulator. However, Vestas is aware of what Matthew Guy (former Planning Minister, now Leader of the Liberal Party in Victoria) has referred to as the wild conspiracy theories that Senator Madigan s office is shamefully peddling to many people in country Victoria. (See For some years now Senator Madigan has been pushing the claim that at least one wind farm in Victoria is not compliant with the terms of its planning permit, and his view that the Clean Energy Regulator should not be allowing such projects to create Large-scale Generation Certificates (LGCs). Those claims have been investigated, tested and rejected on numerous occasions. (c) The role and capacity of the National Health and Medical Research Council in providing guidance to state and territory authorities

4 Vestas has participated in the NHMRC s numerous reviews of the published research in response to claims by anti-wind groups in recent years. Questions over the role and capacity of the NHMRC have been raised by wind farm opponents because the NHMRC has repeatedly declared it has found no credible or quality evidence to back claims that wind turbines make people sick. The NHMRC does not have an unlimited budget to explore the conspiracy theories of anti-wind activists. We understand some funding has recently been allocated for further research in this area and Vestas will await the results of this research with interest. (d) The implementation of planning processes in relation to wind farms, including the level of information available to prospective wind farm hosts Vestas does not seek planning permits for wind farms, so our comments on this topic are from a company that has a significant role in the industry but not with any regular direct contact with planning authorities. The most important attributes of any planning regulations is that they are clear and fair, and designed in a way that addresses any relevant impacts. In the past, planning processes in Victoria in particular have been slow and expensive but we note the recently elected government is reducing some of the red tape in this area and making the Planning Minister the responsible authority for wind farm planning decisions. We note the Clean Energy Council has worked with NSW Farmers and other groups to produce a community expectations guide for farmers to help them understand what is involved in hosting wind turbines on their property and we think this is an excellent initiative. See: (e) The adequacy of monitoring and compliance governance of wind farms As noted above, Vestas is an equipment supplier rather than a company that seeks or hold planning permits so our contact with monitoring and compliance agencies is limited. On an industry-wide basis, we have noted some wind farms have been issued with notices of non-compliance with noise limits is some cases from time to time. To the best of our knowledge all of those cases have seen the wind farm operator deal fairly and swiftly with the relevant agency and neighbours to the project to resolve any issues.

5 (f) The application and integrity of national wind farm guidelines It is unclear what this term of reference is intended to deal with. At one stage about a decade ago the Australian Government did look at whether planning guidelines at a national level would be a good idea, but subsequently rejected the idea of imposing an additional level of regulation. The distribution of legislative power between the Australian Government and the states is such that planning legislation is held at the state level. There has been no good reason provided for why this would change, and it would seem strange if the Senate often known as the states House would recommend any change to these arrangements. (g) The effect that wind towers have on fauna and aerial operations around turbines, including firefighting and crop management Fauna With respect to protection of fauna around wind towers (sic), such matters are governed by state legislation. When a wind farm is planned, environmental studies are undertaken to quantify and mitigate the risk posed by wind turbines to wildlife. Often planning permits will contain special conditions related to this so that the risk is minimised. The point is that planning agencies treat the risk to fauna as a risk that can be dealt with satisfactorily, and continue to issue planning permits accordingly. There are far greater risks to birdlife and other fauna from other threats, and perhaps there is no greater example than the threat posed by climate change itself. The Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act is an example of Commonwealth legislation that is also relevant here and is regularly addressed in various Senate estimates hearings, so we will not discuss it any further in this submission. Aerial operations Additional structures in rural landscapes can introduce a higher level of risk, particularly for aerial operations, and that is why wind farm operators work closely with bodies such as the Civil Aviation Safety Authority to share information with aircraft pilots. Many fire agencies have presented evidence to previous Senate inquiries into wind farms and the common view from the experts seems to be that any risks presented

6 by wind turbines can be dealt with, and the fire agencies treat them as they would treat any other tall object on the landscape. It is interesting to note how often this issue is raised by anti-wind activists and how rarely it is raised by firefighting agencies. With respect to crop management, aerial operations are often required for some farms and these can be risky. Activities such as crop dusting are often carried out in dangerous conditions and lives have been lost when pilots have flown their aircraft into electricity transmission lines, for example. It would be good to see crop dusting pilots cease their practice of dangerous and risky behaviour (e.g. Numerous videos of such conduct like this appear online, showing major risks being taken again and again. Such practices illustrate the low risk posed by wind turbines compared to the high level of risk apparently present in the aerial agricultural industry. (h) The energy and emission input and output equations from whole-of-life operation of wind turbines A single Vestas wind turbine will generate more than 25 times the energy than it uses in its entire lifecycle and return this back to society. And a single Vestas wind turbine only emits around one percent of carbon dioxide when compared to a coal power plant. However, it s important that we acknowledge that when producing solutions to harness wind energy a small negative impact on the environment is made. Vestas is committed to reducing this impact to the extent possible together with our suppliers and customers. This is achieved through a range of initiatives and programs that simultaneously reduce stress on the environment and improve business case certainty for our customers. Further life cycle assessments can be found on our website ( and provided to the Committee on request. Appearing before the Committee Vestas would be pleased to meet with Committee members or staff, or indeed appear before the Committee hearing, to discuss our submission and answer any other questions.

7 Please contact the writer on Yours sincerely, [signed] Ken McAlpine Special Advisor, Public Affairs