Northern Grampians Shire Council has received a planning permit application to construct the first ever major wind farm development solely located within the municipality.
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The application has been lodged to establish a wind farm containing 67 wind turbine generators in the Bulgana/Great Western area.
Lodged by Bulgana Wind Farm Pty Ltd, an Australian subsidiary of global wind energy company Enerfin Energy, the application will now be processed in line with legislated planning processes.
The proposal involves 67 individual turbines with between two megawatts and four megawatts capacity each and has a construction cost estimated at $494 million.
If successful, the project would be the first major wind farm development solely within the Northern Grampians Shire Council municipal boundary.
Chief Executive Officer Justine Linley said it was important for the community to be aware of the details of the proposal and to understand how they can have their input and say.
"While it is extremely encouraging to see that such a significant proposal has been identified as possible within Northern Grampians, particularly in the renewable energy industry, the proposal will ultimately be put before council for determination," she said.
"As with any major planning permit application there are rigorous referral and assessment processes that need to be adhered to and we are very mindful of the importance of fair and due process."
Enerfin Energy first announced its intentions to propose construction of a wind farm at Bulgana in April this year.
The company's managing director, Guillermo Planas, said the progression of planning for the wind farm was entirely dependent on the community's seal of approval.
The proposal was put on public exhibition in May to provide an opportunity for the community to learn more about the proposed project and to provide input to the development process.
Following the consultation process and receipt of comunity input, the decision was made by Enerfin ENergcy Company to proceed with the planning application to council.
It is proposed to develop and construct the wind farm over an area within the Joel Joel, Joel South, Bulgana and Great Western districts.
The area is predominantly cleared land used for sheep farming, although some properties are also used for cropping. Feasibility work on the wind farm indicates that the Bulgana Wind Farm development could see the wind turbines positioned across an area extending from Allanvale in the southwest to Joel South in the north east and connecting into the existing electricity transmission line near Vances Crossing Road. It is expected that the wind farm would operate for at least 25 years.
Enerfin is a company invested in the technology, energy and infrastructure sectors and is active in 25 countries with more than 12,000 employees.
The Bulgana Wind Farm would be Enerfin's first wind energy project in the Australian market.
Mr Planas said the company was extremely pleased to announce the start of activity in Australia.
"We are confident that the Bulgana Wind Farm Project will be a new milestone in the development of wind energy and contribute to reducing the impacts of greenhouse emission in our environment," he said.
"We are grateful for the support and welcoming response that Enerfin has received from the involved landowners, project neighbours, the Northern Grampians Shire Council and the State Government, all of whom have been able to appreciate Enerfin's unique approach and core philosophy to delivering wind energy projects," Mr Planas said.
"We believe that Enerfin's long term commitment, combined with our values of respecting communities, technological innovation and creativity, will bring a unique partnership to the people of the Northern Grampians Shire."
The application, including a map of the proposed location, will be available to be viewed by the public at the Northern Grampians Shire Council's Stawell Customer Service Centre from Monday, October 6, as well as being available online.