MacTiernan’s decision to amend the plan will override the objections of the Shire of Denmark Council, which earlier this year voted eight to four to advise against construction of the proposed wind farm.
Shire President Kim Barrow was not aware MacTiernan had approved the amendments when contacted last week, but said he had been advised that a decision was imminent.
Barrow said Denmark Council had originally proposed the amendments to allow the wind farm to go ahead, but lobbying of council members over the chosen site had ultimately led the council to reconsider its position.
“No one opposes the wind farm, but they oppose the location on Wilson Head,” Barrow said.
“It’s a fairly prominent landmark in Denmark and there are some properties that look right at it. If a less prominent site could be found it would be preferable.”
WA Greens MLC Paul Llewellyn, elected in May this year, was previously a director of wind farm consultancy Skyfarming and involved in the selection of the Denmark site.
Llewellyn, who resigned his directorship upon his election to the Legislative Council and is no longer directly involved in the process, told EMN he believed the project would provide many benefits to the Denmark community.
Llewellyn said the proposed site – on a small section of Reserve 24913, south of an existing lime sand quarry – was superior to alternatives for several reasons.
All of the proposed sites are on public reserves, but the nearby quarry provides access roads and an existing high voltage transmission line that would significantly reduce the infrastructure costs of a new wind farm.
For Llewellyn, another key advantage of the site is the ability to minimise the ultimate environmental footprint of the completed wind farm to less than 1% of the reserve, including the turbines and access roads.
“Every site we could have chosen from, there was someone who would have opposed it, but it really is the optimal site,” Llewellyn said.
“This is a small wind farm by infrastructure standards, but it will be performing an extraordinary task – it’ll be holding up the bridge between Albany and Walpole, the whole southern grid, in the sense that it can ensure supply in that area,” Llewellyn said.
And, of course, the environmental benefits: “Three turbines will make the town of Denmark and the surrounding areas greenhouse neutral,” he said.
Because the wind farm was a community-developed project, the site would ultimately generate revenues that would benefit everyone in the Denmark community, according to Llewellyn.
In approving the amendment, MacTiernan said the approval was in accordance with the Government's commitment to increase the proportion of renewable energy in the South West Interconnected System to 6% by 2010 from 1%.
The minister acknowledged that the community was divided over the issue, but said the Denmark Community Windfarm would provide clean energy and opportunities for eco-tourism and education.
"If we, as a society, are going to address emerging greenhouse issues, we need to start making some tough decisions – the wind farm in Albany attracted similar concerns initially but is now generally accepted as a great project,” MacTiernan said.
