Wind farm inquiry

The renewable energy industry has welcomed the report of the Senate Inquiry into the Social and Economic Impact of Rural Wind Farms in June, saying it provided no reason to stop the rollout of this clean energy technology.

Clean Energy Council Policy Director Russell Marsh said the report raised some issues to consider, but it was critical the industry got on with the job of building clean energy in Australia.

“While we acknowledge that any change will have its critics, the vast majority of submissions to the inquiry were positive about wind farms in rural communities. Around 80% of the submissions were positive and there were more than 1100 submissions from the Hepburn community alone.

“Several findings within the report recognised the contribution of wind energy to jobs in regional areas, as well as its contribution to the incomes of farmers. It reflects opinion polls that consistently show approximately 80% of Australians support wind energy.

Marsh said the inquiry found nothing to suggest that wind farms directly cause health problems and suggested that symptoms could potentially be related to other factors such as stress.

“It did make a recommendation that Commonwealth Government studies into noise and health should be conducted, and the industry welcomes this. We also support the continuing review into the science of wind turbines and health by the National Health and Medical Research Council.”