Draft National Wind Farm Development Guidelines - July 2010

The 20/20 target is challenging; however, it is achievable and energy sources such as wind
will have a key role in moving Australia to the clean economy of the future.
The variability of the wind does not prevent wind energy from being an effective means of
reducing greenhouse gas emissions. For every megawatt hour (MWh) of wind energy
consumed, one less MWh is needed from another source. As around 90 per cent of
Australia’s electricity comes from fossil fuel-based generation, this means that the energy
production that is displaced by wind farms is likely to be from coal- or gas-fired power
stations. By displacing coal and gasfired generation, wind farms reduce greenhouse
emissions. Wind turbine technology is well established and less expensive than most
competing renewable energy technologies and forms a necessary part of our future
energy mix with a growing role to play in managing the environmental impact of energy
production and use.
1.3 What’s covered in the Guidelines
The purpose of these Guidelines is to provide a nationally consistent set of best-practice
methods for assessing the impacts that are unique or significant to wind farm
developments and operations.
A number of key topics have been identified and addressed in these Guidelines. Detailed
methodologies for six of these topics have been developed and are contained in the
Technical Appendices. These six topics are:
• Community and stakeholder consultation
• Wind turbine noise
• Visual and landscape impacts
• Birds & bats
• Shadow flicker
• Electromagnetic interference (EMI)
Some topics do not have detailed methodologies because the solution is relatively simple
or is covered well in other planning processes and documents. Guidance is provided in the
body of the Guidelines on the following such issues:
• Aircraft safety and lighting
• Blade glint
• Risk of fire
• Heritage
• Indigenous heritage
1.4 What’s NOT covered in the Guidelines
Each state, territory and local government jurisdiction has a well-developed assessment
framework for new developments (not just wind farms), including environmental
assessment. These frameworks are generally supported by a range of policies, regulations,
guidelines, zoning and other planning controls. Planning legislation also defines the
relevant authority (who makes the decisions), the statutory consultation process (including
nature and length of public exhibition periods), the review process and rights of appeal.
While the generic nature of the processes and documentation is similar between
jurisdictions, there are local differences. These Guidelines do not outline the planning
processes for each jurisdiction.
Additionally, these Guidelines do not address those areas of wind farm developments and
operations that are common to most major developments (not just wind farms). Such issues
include;
• Vegetation clearance
• Soil disturbance/erosion
• Terrestrial fauna impacts other than birds and bats
• Other ecological impacts
• Traffic management
• Construction and engineering standards.
Page 2 Draft National Wind Farm Development Guidelines – 2 July 2010