MEDIA RELEASE
RELEASED BY CENREC – 27/11/13
Central NSW Renewable Energy Cooperative (CENREC) today welcomed the recommendation by the NSW Planning Department for approval of the Flyers Creek Windfarm.
The Department of Planning has recommended that the project be approved stating that it “is satisfied that the project can achieve acceptable amenity, health and environmental standards through the recommended conditions of approval and the Proponent’s Statement of Commitments, and can proceed in a sustainable manner with overall benefits to the State.”
Welcoming the recommendation, Chair of CENREC, Dr Patrick Bradbery said “the windfarm at Flyers Creek just west of Blayney will be the first opportunity in Australia for a local community to own a share in a commercially operated wind farm”.
“The CENREC cooperative model of community ownership of a regional power resource means that our community is poised to take up a share in this significant development”, he said.
“The benefits flowing to the local community from community ownership of a windfarm turbine will be three fold economic, social and environmental, said CENREC Chair”, Dr Patrick Bradbery. CENREC has been formed to purchase one turbine within the development. The turbine is expected to be 3MW in size and sufficient to power 1300 homes. This means that proceeds from almost 10% of the electricity used in residences of a town the size of Bathurst or Orange will be coming from renewable source and will stay within the local economy.
Community owners of the turbine will also know that their investment is substantially reducing carbon emissions. The renewable energy produced from one turbine will be the equivalent of removing 2000 cars from our roads every year.
CENREC Cooperative membership starts at $1000. Members will be rewarded with a competitive return on investment once the turbines are generating, hopefully within two years of approval, Dr Bradbery said.
The Flyers Creek Wind Farm Development Application is now referred to the Planning Assessment Commission for final determination.
Update: see “Flyers Creek Wind Farm Receives Planning Approval“