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• 1655 Vol. 38 No. 44 SINGLE COPY — $3.00 (includes GST) SUBSCRIPTIONS — $300 pa (print) $150 pa (digital)
THURSDAY, 19TH JUNE 2025 Local people. Local news.
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Wind farm approved... subject to conditions The NSW Independent Planning Commission last week approved the Valley of the Winds Wind Farm, located within the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone, approximately 40-kilometres north of Gulgong, between Coolah, Leadville and Uarbry within the Warrumbungle Shire Local Government Area. ACEN Australia Pty Ltd sought approval for the st at e sig n i f ic a nt development (S SD 10461) which includes a 943 MW wind farm with a 320 MW battery energy storage system (BESS). It says Valley of the Winds Wind Farm has the capacity to generate enough energy to power about 519,0 0 0 homes per year and will contribute to the NSW Government’s net zero targets and renewableenergy objectives. The 320 M W / 640 M W h BE S S wou ld enable renewable energy to be stored for dispatch to the grid, increasing grid st abi l it y a nd ener g y security.
This State Significant Development (S SD) application was referred t o the I ndependent Planning Commission for determination due t o more tha n 5 0 public objections made to the Depar tment of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure during its assessment of the Project – and because Wa r r umbu ngle Sh i re Council objected to the proposal. T he t h r e e -mem b e r Commission panel, compr isi ng R icha rd Pearson (panel chair), Suellen Fitzgerald and Sa rah Dinn ing met with key stakeholders, conducted a site inspection and locality
tour, and held a public m e e t i n g wh e r e t h e y heard from 33 speakers and received a total of 58 written submissions. In its Statement of Reasons for Decision, the Commission found that the site was “suitable for renewable energ y development given its location close to the approved CWO REZ transmission line, available wind resources, design to avoid major env i r on ment a l constraints and access t o the .reg iona l road network” The Commission considered the concerns ra ised by commu n ity memb er s r el at i n g t o visual impacts, aerial
firefighting, agriculture, b i o d i v e r s i t y, t r a f f i c a nd tra nspor t , socio economic impacts, decommissioning and rehabi l it ation , wat er resources and the cumulative impacts of this and other nearby developments. Conditions of consent have been i mposed that mitigate a number of issues, i nclud i ng requiring ACEN Australia Pty Ltd to: • Prepare an aviation ma n agement pl a n i n consultation with the Aer ial Application Association of Australia, NSW Rural Fire Service and nearby aerodrome o p e r at o r s t o e n s u r e continued av iation in
the area, including aerial firefighting and aerial agricultural activities; • P repa re a watersourcing plan and a soil and water management plan; • Undertake on-going community consultation v ia a Commun ity Consultative Committee; • Comply with approved traffic routes; and • Prepare a detailed decommissioning and rehabilitation plan. All documents relating to the assessment and determination of this proposal can be found on t he C om m i s sion’s website: www.ipcn.nsw. g o v. au / c a s e s / v a l l e y winds-wind-farm
NSW GOVERNOR TO TOUR REGION PAGE 2
ZAC CRAIG’S LATEST EXHIBITION PAGE 5
NEWS FROM COUNCIL PAGE 8
1 - Coonabarabran Times, Thursday, 19 June 2025