{"id":280229,"date":"2023-09-24T19:38:20","date_gmt":"2023-09-24T17:38:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=280229"},"modified":"2023-09-24T19:38:23","modified_gmt":"2023-09-24T17:38:23","slug":"blaze-of-fury-local-outrage-forces-government-backflip-on-offshore-wind-turbine-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=280229","title":{"rendered":"Blaze of Fury: Local Outrage Forces Government Backflip on Offshore Wind Turbine\u00a0Plans"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From STOP THESE THINGS<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Whatever \u2018social licence\u2019 the wind industry had evaporated years ago; wrecked communities, wrecked environments and wrecked economies will do it every time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sure enough, the usual \u2018not in my back yard\u2019 protester often takes the lead in opposition to another aggregation of these monstrosities. However, the arguments these days are broader and more to the point; viz, because wind power is always and everywhere chaotically intermittent, and depends entirely on subsidies, it makes absolutely no sense, at all \u2013 not in my backyard and not in yours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which is the problem faced by Australia\u2019s Federal Green-Labor Alliance desperately trying to ram home an 82% wind and solar target, riding roughshod over communities far and wide, in the bargain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The spin masters reckon that it\u2019s all about the \u2018pitch\u2019. That is, if only they had engaged in smoother \u2018consultation\u2019 the locals wouldn\u2019t be revolting. Gaslighting and soft soaping, however, no longer works the way it did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, the curious and the wise have identified the flaw in the entire grand wind and solar transition proposition. If the aim is to reduce carbon dioxide emission gas in the electricity generation sector, the answer is obvious: reliable, safe and affordable nuclear power. No need for batteries, no need for back up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, placing nuclear power plants (including small modular reactors) on the sites occupied by coal-fired power plants means there is no need to shroud an entire continent in tens of thousands of kilometres of new and additional transmission lines to bring occasional power generated by wind and solar from the back blocks, to the burbs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, facing a group of hostile natives, armed with the facts, the Federal Energy Minister, Chris Bowen is in more trouble the Ned Kelly at Glenrowan. As this piece from The Australian attests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wind turbines\u2019 blowback in Labor heartland seats<\/strong>
The Australian
Geoff Chambers and Greg Brown
19 September 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chris Bowen is attempting to head off a voter revolt in Labor heartland seats over plans to rollout offshore wind turbines and massive transmission lines, holding a closed-door meeting with leaders in the NSW Hunter \u00adregion to keep his ambitious \u00adrenewables target on track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Mr Bowen launched a fear campaign over the Coalition\u2019s nuclear ambitions, senior ALP figures are concerned a widespread community backlash against wind farm zones could negatively impact key Labor seats, including Paterson, Shortland and Gilmore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Bowen on Tuesday will meet with handpicked Port Stephens community leaders amid rising local anger over the government\u2019s decision to ram through its 5GW Hunter offshore wind zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government\u2019s approach to consultation in the Hunter region has sparked a fierce backlash from an alliance of fishermen, tourism and whale-watching operators, environmentalists and residents who oppose offshore turbines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Labor sources said there was concern within the party about losing support in the region, with \u201cworking-class people united against\u201d the proposal for offshore wind turbines stretching over 1800sq\/km between Swansea and Port Stephens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opposition is based on the impact of giant, floating wind turbines on the scenery, marine life and birdlife, water currents, its flow-on impact on tourism, and concerns it would curtail shipping trade into the Port of Newcastle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is this constant perception you are going to be able to see them and it will ruin the pristine coastline,\u201d the Labor source said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NSW Labor figure told The Australian the same arguments the party used against developing offshore gas in the region through the PEP-11 project was being used against the government over the wind farms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey are using our own stuff against us because we sowed this idea that you have to protect what you can see,\u201d the source said. Newcastle and Port Stephens Game Fish Club president Troy Radford \u2013 who is leading the community pushback against the wind zone \u2013 said Mr Bowen had told them he wanted the wind turbines in the water by 2028-30 and that up to three licences would be granted. Applications are due to close in November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Radford, who has heavily criticised the consultation process and is hosting a public rally on October 7, said he was concerned about the project\u2019s impact on tourism, fishing, whale-watching and birdlife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rhys Westbury, who runs the Stop Wind Farm off Port Stephens Facebook Page, said impacted communities were seeking to broaden the offshore wind turbine protest movement under a \u201cNo Coastal Wind Farms Collective\u201d banner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government, which last year announced the nation\u2019s first offshore wind zone off Gippsland in Victoria, in August launched public consultation over plans to create another offshore wind zone on the NSW south coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The South Australian Labor government last month joined concerned rock lobster fishers in formally opposing a proposed Southern Ocean offshore wind zone stretching from Warrnambool in Victoria to Port MacDonnell on the state\u2019s southeast Limestone Coast region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahead of his closed-door meeting in the NSW Hunter on Tuesday, a spokeswoman for Mr Bowen said: \u201cThe Albanese government is committed to genuine consultation with all communities and local groups regarding the Hunter offshore wind zone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHaving reviewed the 1916 submissions, the minister declared a final area which was around a third smaller than the original zone. Before a project can commence, proponents must seek and receive approval for feasibility licences and comply with strict environmental regulations. The government will only be licensing projects that work well with existing industry and the environment, and deliver meaningful, long-lasting community benefits.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Bowen in July reduced the size of the Hunter-Central Coast wind zone from its initial 8GW proposal after community anger, with Labor sources saying the decision was designed to prevent blowback in the electorates of Dobell and Robertson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an attempt to shift the conversation away from contentious renewables projects, Mr Bowen on Sunday released costings from his department claiming a shift to nuclear energy would cost $387bn. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton on Monday rejected the costing and declared there was no \u201ccredible path to get to net zero by 2050 without the use of latest technology nuclear\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s zero emissions, it firms up renewables,\u201d Mr Dutton said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChris Bowen did numbers before the election that he promised Australians on 97 occasions that he would bring power prices down by $275. Has anyone\u2019s power bill gone down by $275 under Chris Bowen? No.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChris Bowen has got his head in the sand when it comes to \u00adnuclear power, and what he\u2019s worried about is the internal dynamic within the Labor Party, he\u2019s not worried about the national interest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A senior Labor source said Mr Bowen\u2019s modelling was a \u201cshocking misrepresentation\u201d of the Coalition\u2019s policy idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey are clearly not suggesting that taxpayers will fund and build 71 SMRs. They will target those existing coal sites like Liddell, Bayswater and Eraring and use the existing infrastructure and connections to lock in the baseload power that\u2019s going to be needed,\u201d the source said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Labor insider also said it was likely \u201cno coincidence\u201d that Mr Bowen had reduced the capacity of the original Hunter-Central Coast offshore wind zone from 8GW to 5GW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe pushed it away from the Central Coast, where there are two marginal seats.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Labor electorates in NSW coalmining, steelmaking and tourism regions are crucial for Anthony Albanese to hold at the 2025 election, with the Coalition making a big push in the Hunter and Central Coast regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fate of the seats could depend on whether voters decide they are more opposed to large-scale renewable projects or the development of nuclear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polling obtained by The Australian reveals that 56 per cent of Australians agree that the federal government should seriously consider the use of SMRs to generate energy. Of the Labor voters polled, 51 per cent agreed, 34 per cent were neutral and 15 per cent disagreed. The Insightfully polling of 2400 voters, commissioned by the Minerals Council of Australia in May found that only 24 per cent of Australians knew about SMRs, which have a footprint roughly the same as a cricket oval and can power a million homes. However, the polling shows that 40 per cent of Australians would support the development of an SMR near their town or city, with only 25 per cent opposed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The top reasons for supporting SMRs were that nuclear is emissions free, nuclear is safely used in other Western nations and that all low-emissions technologies should be accessed to help the nation decarbonise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Bowen on Monday denied that his attack on nuclear was linked to the Coalition gaining traction on nuclear and a shift in public sentiment. But he conceded there needed to be better consultation with regional comminutes on the rollout of large-scale renewable projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCommunities deserve proper engagement. It hasn\u2019t been done well enough in the past,\u201d Mr Bowen told the ABC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opposition climate change and energy spokesman Ted O\u2019Brien \u2013 who will hold a public forum with Port Stephens residents on Tuesday \u2013 said \u201clocal residents are in disbelief that the government has ignored their concerns\u201d. \u201cLabor announced a review of its community engagement process in July in an admission that public consultations were flawed, but steamrolled ahead anyhow,\u201d he said.
The Australian<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whatever \u2018social licence\u2019 the wind industry had evaporated years ago; wrecked communities, wrecked environments and wrecked economies will do it every time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":280236,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818216,691818076,691822917,691818154,691819094],"class_list":{"0":"post-280229","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-australia","9":"tag-co2","10":"tag-federal-green-labor-alliance","11":"tag-net-zero","12":"tag-renewable-green-energy","14":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/image-736.png?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1aTP","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":279195,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=279195","url_meta":{"origin":280229,"position":0},"title":"Clean, Safe & Reliable Nuclear Power the Environment\u2019s Best\u00a0Friend","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"17\/09\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Wind and solar have lost their \u2018social licence\u2019; the masses no longer believe the \u2018clean and green\u2019 propaganda. 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