AgForce applauds recent amendments by the LNP Government to bring wind farm projects into line with other land uses and make them impact assessable and mandating bonds or a bank guarantee as security to ensure that funds are available to decommission wind turbines should the developer default on their responsibility.
However, Queensland's peak representative body for rural producers still has grave concerns about the Wind Farm Code, as it still does not protect landholders from excessive noise or eliminate liability risks.
AgForce CEO Michael Guerin said that despite updates to the Code, there is still no requirement for wind farms to comply with established noise limit requirements that apply to all other industries.
"These issues will only be exacerbated as wind farms continue to be developed across the State," Mr Guerin said.
"While AgForce applauds recent amendments by the LNP Government to bring renewable energy projects into line with other land uses and make them impact assessable, it's clear they have not gone far enough."
"It's unacceptable that wind farms in Queensland are not required to comply with the noise criteria stipulated in the Environmental Protection (Noise) Policy 2019 guidelines - unlike all other industries in Queensland.
"That includes the coal and gas industry, which is required to comply with the Noise Policy.
Current regulations for Queensland wind farms fall under the State Code 23: Wind Farm Development. Table 23.3 of that Code includes the concept of "wind masking", which allows higher noise levels at the turbine as wind speeds increase
"However the background noise generated at the turbine - which is usually high on a ridge - is very different from the background noise generated by the wind at the 'sensitive receptor' - such as a house located lower in the valley," he said.
AgForce is aware that the previous ALP Government ignored their own Noise Expert 's advice at the time of developing the Code, who stated: "wind masking has been applied as if it was masking noise of similar frequencies and this is not the case." The distance of 1500m as a buffer will not be sufficient for the current size of wind turbine. This distance had originated years ago for much smaller size turbines and at the time was probably a correct distance"
"We know of people whose sleep is disturbed by the noise from wind turbines, only to find there was nothing they could do as the noise level is deemed to be compliant with approvals granted under previous Wind Farm Code criteria. This is absurd and must be addressed.
"AgForce is calling on the State Government to regulate the noise produced by wind farms by mandating their compliance with the Noise Policy, and bring them into line with all other industries in Queensland. That's only fair to all concerned.
AgForce also believes the minimum setback distance of 1500m should be increased significantly, given that the size of wind turbines has increased by approximately 100m since the criteria in the Code was first developed in 2015.
"AgForce is also concerned about wind farm decommissioning approval conditions that as they stand, may still bind the landowner to unfair liability risks," Mr Guerin said.
While the amendments to the Code mandates bonds or a bank guarantee as security to ensure funds are available to decommission wind turbines when necessary, if the bond security is inadequate at the time of decommissioning, landowners are then held liable to carry out the decommissioning at their own cost. These costs are exorbitant, and it's unreasonable to expect farmers to bear them.
AgForce is calling on the State Government to require that bonds or bank guarantees must be provided before the wind farm starts operations, that these reflect the real costs of decommissioning and that they must be provided by a financially sound independent institution.
"The Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner stated on its website in January 2023 that decommissioning costs were estimated at between $400,000 to $600,000 per turbine. But with the caveat, that if the turbine has a structural failure or is unstable, it could cost millions of dollars to safely remove and decommission.
"These true costs should be reflected in the new Code, particularly now that the industry is expanding at such a great pace, to ensure the public is protected from rogue operators."
Apart from decommissioning and noise issues, AgForce is also urging the LNP government to address concerns with biosecurity and potential land zoning changes.
"Many landholders aren't aware that their primary production status could be jeopardised by hosting a wind farm project, causing their council rates to skyrocket as they are rezoned as industrial," he said.
"Ideally, we would also like to see a register of reputable renewable energy developers, along with better and wider consultation with communities
"Landholders need better protections. They should be recognised in their own right as a stakeholder, as the risk to their interests far exceeds that of the wider community.
"AgForce supports the efforts the LNP has made to address issues with the Code so far, but encourages the Government to draw attention to neighbours of wind farm projects who may be impacted by the development but under current guidelines do not receive any compensation. We see this is an area that needs more consideration."
