by
Simon Mansfield
Wind farming is
opening up an entirely new revenue source for family farms throughout the region,
with ideal locations around Kiama, Milton and south to Eden and the border.
If fully developed, wind farming could be the
biggest economic opportunity the South Coast has seen since the advent of the
motorcar and weekend tourism.
But it requires the
cooperation of government at all levels to clear the way and provide the
planning and financial environment that will underpin a rapid uptake in wind
energy developments.
Government needs
to fund detailed wind assessments of the local terrain and then overlay this
with planning and zoning guidelines to identify quality wind farm sites. This
will enable wind farmers to develop projects with less administrative overheads
and help increase the viability of more projects.
Local media, which
are keen to find punchy headlines to sell their publications, have too often
overstated noise and visual issues, while ignoring the vast progress made in
wind technology that has resulted in much quieter systems.
The danger to
birds is a red herring – that’s easily mitigated by not building next to prime
nesting areas. The typical car or cat will kill more birds in a year than wind
turbines do in a decade. And wind farms located a few kilometres from township
areas soon disappear into the vastness of the Australian outdoors – helped by
painting them with muted colours instead of the traditional standout whites and
silvers.
The reality is
that wind energy is the only affordable solution for immediate widespread
development. It is the initial first step in moving Australia away from dirty
coal power plants and towards clean, cheap energy sources such as wind, which
we can use with abundance - leaving fears of an energy scarcity a quaint memory
from the 20th century.
Future solar
technologies will one day beat most if not all other energy systems – even hot
fusion once it’s perfected. But for the next 30 years, wind and natural gas are
the most economical systems to generate energy and take the pressure off
climate change.
We can begin
deploying wind energy today. And right now, all over the world, governments,
corporations and communities are building wind farms, making wind the fastest
growing sector among renewables.
Wind energy
technology is based on low tech and low energy production systems. Bent metal,
shaped wood and some fancy electronics are basically all there is in a wind
turbine. This makes wind turbine production a straightforward system that can
be manufactured by existing local industries with few obstacles – just time,
money and a willingness to change and prosper.
Many companies
will enter the local wind market in the coming years and all have a part to
play. Through broad cooperation by all stakeholders, wind power can prosper and
make the South Coast one of the great centres for the renewable energy industry.
For more
information about wind energy technology visit www.winddaily.com
Simon Mansfield is
the managing partner of ABC Wind – a wind farm developer, and the publisher of
Wind Daily – an online
news service for the international wind industry.