More than 1000 wind turbines are to be built in some of the country's oldest and most productive farmland in Western Australia. It's an energy transition hastened by industrial decarbonisation goals and the state's plan to switch off its coal fire power plants by 2030. Some land holders stand to make millions from the burgeoning industry, while others say opposition to the turbines is being dismissed in favor of development.
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00:00In the wheatbelt, a new kind of farming is taking root.
00:06We're confident that this location is a good site for a wind farm.
00:10One of the world's largest manufacturers of wind turbines plans to build a 70 turbine
00:14wind farm on the outskirts of Ongarup, driven partly by the state government's decision
00:19to close its coal-fired power stations by 2030.
00:22That's going to be 3,000 to 4,000 megawatts out of the system by 2030, and then growing
00:28to almost double that to 2040.
00:30More than 1,000 turbines are expected to be built in the wheatbelt as part of a dozen
00:34planned wind farms.
00:36Putting up large wind turbines in these regions, they will be visible from any vantage point.
00:43In Kojonup, the Flat Rocks Wind Farm is already producing power.
00:47A local farming family is a key stakeholder.
00:49It's a guaranteed income which is a bit, you know, it's future-proofing bad years in farming
00:55and that's one of the biggest risks with farming, the fluctuations in the seasons.
01:01But not everyone is as enthusiastic about the change.
01:04There are a number of turbines that are 200 metres from our boundaries.
01:09It's just poor planning to do that.
01:14State government control of planning approvals is also creating friction.
01:18At a local government forum in Myeshire recently, the answer was we will go to the state development,
01:24which means, again, local government is a sidestep.
01:27For small local governments to assess major wind farms can actually challenge their capacity,
01:34so there is potential for wind farms to go through a central process of the WA Planning
01:41Commission.
01:42Experts say including local communities in the planning process is the key to more equitable
01:47developments.
01:48The Shire Councillors are very well respected within the community, so you really want them
01:52because at the table and representing their community.
01:55A growing need for energy dividing rural communities.