{"id":290246,"date":"2023-12-06T20:19:11","date_gmt":"2023-12-06T19:19:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=290246"},"modified":"2023-12-06T20:19:13","modified_gmt":"2023-12-06T19:19:13","slug":"wind-solar-rent-seekers-rage-against-communities-saving-the-environment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=290246","title":{"rendered":"Wind & Solar Rent-Seekers Rage Against Communities Saving the\u00a0Environment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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

The wind industry\u2019s social licence looks increasingly like a licence to destroy everything in its path, including prosperous rural communities and precious ecosystems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wiping out huge tracts of pristine forests \u2013 habitat to rare and endangered critters of all kinds \u2013 and slicing and dicing avian predators, like hawks, falcons and eagles and bats is also apparently included in their so-called \u2018licence\u2019. And, when they spear them into the ocean floor, the license is taken to extend to the lawful killing of whales, porpoises and dolphins, and an endless trail of mangled seabirds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, when local communities and the politicians that attempt to represent them seek to curb or limit the scope of their self-issued \u2018licence\u2019, the wind industry and its propaganda wing descend to their very own form of indignant apoplexy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How dare anyone object to the pointless habitat destruction, community disruption and the mindless slaughter of birds, bats and whales?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember this is all about saving the planet, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Giles Parkinson from Ruin Economy heads up the wind and solar propaganda team for rent-seekers Downunder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here he is in unbridled outrage mode, railing against planning controls that seek to limit the destruction these things inevitably cause on all of the accounts identified above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NSW blots out nearly entire state for wind projects \u2013 few areas deemed \u201cdesirable\u201d for turbines<\/strong>
Renew Economy
Giles Parkinson
14 November 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The NSW government has blotted out nearly the entire state as \u201cless suitable\u201d for wind farms, with few if any areas deemed \u201cdesirable\u201d for new projects under new draft planning guidelines issued on Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The guidelines, which include hefty new fees for wind and solar projects to provide funds<\/a> to local communities as a way of overcoming social licence issues, are ostensibly about fast-tracking the planning process for new projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some developers, however, have deemed the new fees as a form of tax. But the maps published with the new guidelines present an even greater problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They highlight huge swathes of the state deemed \u201cdesirable\u201d or suitable for solar farms \u2013 mostly on or close to existing or proposed transmission lines \u2013 but few or no areas deemed desirable for wind projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Particularly noticeable is the New England area, where federal\u00a0Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce\u00a0<\/a>has been leading a raucous campaign against wind farms in particular, but also solar projects and new transmission lines. There is no part of New England deemed \u201cdesirable\u201d in the guidelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

The new map provided by the state government (above) shows only a tiny amount of sites deemed \u201csuitable\u201d west of Goulburn \u2013 ironically in the Hume electorate of one of the most vocal anti-wind campaigners of all, former energy minister Angus Taylor \u2013 and near Dubbo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The suitable sites are highlighted in yellow. \u201cDesirable\u201d areas are highlighted in red, and \u201cless suitable\u201d in green.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt seems wrong \u2026 a tiny amount of sites near Goulburn and Dubbo. Ouch!\u201d said one renewable energy developer. \u201cIt must be a mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But apparently not. The document notes that \u201cit is challenging\u201d to find any sites for wind turbines that do not have \u201csignificant conflicts\u201d. Industrial wind farms have proved particularly problematic in the NSW planning pipeline, with only one project approved in the last four years, according to the industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More recently, apart from the Joyce-led campaign against onshore wind projects, local groups have been fuelling opposition to proposed new offshore wind zones in the Illawarra and Newcastle, including emphasising the threat to migrating whales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The renewable energy industry has already had a set back with the delay to so-called \u201caccess rights\u201d \u2013 which were to be offered to new projects hoping to secure a place on the grid that would not be constrained. The first tender for access rates has been cancelled and pushed back another six months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The planning guidelines published by the state government say the map shows \u201cthe most desirable areas for wind energy development considering key commercial factors and high-level environmental constraints.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It says these wind resource potential, the proximity to existing and planned transmission infrastructure, access to major energy users, available network capacity, development and land use, land value, land use zoning, areas of high biodiversity value, and distance to major towns and population centres, national parks and reserves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The guidelines \u2013 the first since 2016 \u2013 also include more clarity about setbacks, including a 2km setback for homes with visibility of the turbines, and 500 metre setbacks for recreational areas and national parks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDue to the large scale of wind energy development, it is challenging to find sites that do not have significant conflicts,\u201d the document says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cProjects must also be designed in a cost-effective manner to provide benefits to energy consumers and reduced electricity costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOverall, the site selection process should avoid impacts as far as possible. Projects should then be designed to strike an appropriate balance between competing environmental, commercial, and social factors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

See the contrast with the solar map below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Renew Economy<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

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

From STOP THESE THINGS The wind industry\u2019s social licence looks increasingly like a licence to destroy everything in its path, including prosperous rural communities and precious ecosystems. Wiping out huge tracts of pristine forests \u2013 habitat to rare and endangered critters of all kinds \u2013 and slicing and dicing avian predators, like hawks, falcons and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":290253,"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":"The wind industry\u2019s social licence looks increasingly like a licence to destroy everything in its path, including prosperous rural communities and precious ecosystems.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"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":[691824503,691818618,691825103,691825104,691818179],"class_list":{"0":"post-290246","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-electricity-costs","9":"tag-energy-transition","10":"tag-licence-to-destroy","11":"tag-nsw-government","12":"tag-wind-industry","14":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/image-736-1024x576-1.webp?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1dvo","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":335937,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=335937","url_meta":{"origin":290246,"position":0},"title":"Perfectly Justified: Furious Communities Reject Wind & Solar\u00a0Rollout","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"09\/07\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The wind and solar industries\u2019 so-called \u2018social licence\u2019 evaporated, years ago. Now, rural communities are on the war path. These days, they\u2019re better armed and better equipped to take on rent-seeking carpetbaggers who couldn\u2019t care less about destroying their peaceful and prosperous communities.","rel":"","context":"In \"Australia\"","block_context":{"text":"Australia","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=australia"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0australias_first_hybrid_wind.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0australias_first_hybrid_wind.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0australias_first_hybrid_wind.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0australias_first_hybrid_wind.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0australias_first_hybrid_wind.jpg?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":375943,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=375943","url_meta":{"origin":290246,"position":1},"title":"Shetland\u2019s Viking Windfarm\u00a0Scandal","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"20\/04\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Ofgem is investigating the compliance of Moray Offshore Windfarm (East) Ltd (the owner and operator of Moray East Offshore Windfarm) with the requirements of condition 20A of the Electricity Generation Standard Licence Conditions (known as the Transmission Constraint Licence Condition, or \u201cTCLC\u201d).","rel":"","context":"In \"Moray East Offshore Windfarm\"","block_context":{"text":"Moray East Offshore Windfarm","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=moray-east-offshore-windfarm"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0Screenshot-2025-04-20-174843.png?fit=1200%2C667&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0Screenshot-2025-04-20-174843.png?fit=1200%2C667&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0Screenshot-2025-04-20-174843.png?fit=1200%2C667&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0Screenshot-2025-04-20-174843.png?fit=1200%2C667&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0Screenshot-2025-04-20-174843.png?fit=1200%2C667&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":389556,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=389556","url_meta":{"origin":290246,"position":2},"title":"Clean Power 2030 projects risk becoming stranded\u00a0assets","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"18\/07\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Reform\u2019s Richard Tice has written to green energy bosses warning them that a Nigel Farage-led government would terminate green subsidy contracts associated with Labour\u2019s Clean Power 2030 agenda. 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Price bomb sinks Transmission lines: Plan B says let\u2019s pretend cars, home solar and batteries will save \u201cTransition\u201d","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"28\/05\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"This is big. So big the AEMO just announced transmission line costs are up as much as 55%, and they are going to re-visit projects they previously said needed to proceed (which is the nice way of saying they will have to axe some or many of them). What no\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"AEMO (Australia Energy Market Operator)\"","block_context":{"text":"AEMO (Australia Energy Market Operator)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=aemo-australia-energy-market-operator"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/OIG-2023-08-15T131137.784.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/OIG-2023-08-15T131137.784.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/OIG-2023-08-15T131137.784.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/OIG-2023-08-15T131137.784.jpeg?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=290246"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290246\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":290254,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290246\/revisions\/290254"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/290253"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=290246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=290246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=290246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}