A proposed wind farm project in southwest Victoria aims to harness wind energy from pine plantations near the town of Nelson. The project, Kentbruck Green Power Hub, faces public consultation and will need to address environmental concerns.
A wind farm proposal worth $1.2 billion has been put forward for an area of pine plantations near Nelson in southwest Victoria. The project, named Kentbruck Green Power Hub, aims to establish a wind farm with over 100 turbines between the townships of Nelson and Portland. Developer Neoen Australia has leased land from plantation owners and plans to clear trees for turbine construction.
\The project's initial plans included 157 turbines and a storage battery system, but the battery is no longer part of the proposal and the number of turbines has been reduced to approximately 105. Each turbine is projected to generate up to 7 megawatts of power. Neoen Victoria state leader Alicia Webb emphasized the minimal environmental impact of utilizing pine plantations, stating that the area consists of exotic monoculture and the removal of trees for wind turbines would have a negligible effect. \She highlighted the project's potential for land synergy, noting the existing roads and infrastructure within the plantation, which would facilitate construction and maintenance. University of Melbourne forestry expert Rod Keenan commented on the global trend of incorporating wind turbines into plantations as technology advances. He explained that forests were previously considered unsuitable for wind turbines due to atmospheric turbulence, but plantations offer a more favorable environment. Keenan also pointed out that plantations' remote location minimizes social concerns associated with wind farm developments. \The Kentbruck proposal will connect to the electricity grid at the Heywood Terminal Station, situated near the Portland Aluminium Smelter, Victoria's largest electricity consumer. Neoen's public consultation materials indicate that the turbines will be constructed tall enough to avoid disturbing the critically endangered southern bent-wing bat, known to inhabit the pine plantations. Professor Keenan stressed the need to consider the increasing biodiversity observed in forestry plantations during the wind turbine development process
WIND ENERGY VICTORIA PINE PLANTATIONS ENVIRONMENT RENEWABLE ENERGY
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