Majority of attendees walk out of wind farm meeting

AN information session about the Fera Seymour Wind Farm was held at the Alexandra Secondary College on the morning of Saturday, July 27.

Project lead Andrew Lawson presented a Powerpoint presentation outlining the current state of the project and seeking to answer “every question” before the session ended.

He spoke about the processes being undertaken and the reports being compiled, as well as the planned timeline for the project.

They are aiming to install 80 to 100 wind turbines, and when the project ends, the base will be removed to a depth of half a metre.

The turbines are expected to have hub heights of between 120 and 160 metres and rotor diameters of 160 to 170 metres.

There were also discussions around fire safety, noise impacts and bird impacts.

The audience were keen to engage in the Q&A session following the presentation.

One audience member asked why no towns were marked on the map of turbine locations, and Mr Lawson responded that they would be included on the website version, when added.

There were also concerns from landholders within the planned turbine or transmission line paths that they had had no contact from Fera.

The person was told that they are trying to get in contact with everyone, and that they can make contact directly.

When asked about the financial around the project, Mr Lawson said that the cost is expected to be $1.2 to $1.5 billion, paid for eventually through energy sales of $180 to $200 million per year.

It will take 10 to 12 years to pay off.

Another question was about the Transmission Plan review currently being undertaken via the Engage Victoria website.

Mr Lawson said that he believed it likely that the area of their planned wind farm would be…..