Wind Farm Commissioner rebadged as focus shifts to energy infrastructure
Wind Farm Commissioner rebadged as focus shifts to energy infrastructure
Mr Dyer will also oversee complaints and community concerns
The contentious position of National Wind Farm Commissioner will be overhauled to focus on the multi-billion-dollar roll-out of new major energy transmission projects across the eastern states.
Early work to modernise Australia’s outdated energy grid has begun in recent months with transmission projects including Marinus Link – to connect the mainland with Tasmania – Project EnergyConnect, HumeLink and the Western Victoria Transmission Network Project.
The role, which will continue to be held by the inaugural appointee, Andrew Dyer, was originally designed to report to the government on “the impact on the environment and human health of audible noise … and infrasound from wind turbines” and later expanded to cover complaints over solar farms and energy storage.
In the renamed position of Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner, Mr Dyer will also oversee complaints and community concerns about major new transmission projects.
His expanded remit will cover landholders facing problems with the design, planning, construction or operation of high voltage power lines on, or near, their properties.
The federal government hopes the new role will help pave the way for the rapid development of the transmission network, which Energy Minister Angus Taylor described as “crucial to the security and affordability of our grid”.
“As these critically important transmission projects take shape, we want to ensure that any concerns community members have are heard and resolved in the appropriate way, and the commissioner’s expanded role will facilitate this,” he said.
Update 07 April 2021
I’m happy to let you know that Andrew Dyer has heard our concerns and called me today for a chat about our region. We will now engage in ongoing discussions about the impacts on Darley, Coimadai and Merrimu. Thank you to all who signed and sent letters. It does make a difference and this phone call may not have happened without your continued support.
“This will assess the proposed area between Bulgana and Sydenham through Victoria’s most transparent and rigorous environmental assessment framework.”
Richard Wynne, Minister for Planning
“While this project is important to the future of Victoria’s power system, it’s critical we assess its environmental effects to avoid or minimise impacts on the community or the environment.”
Richard Wynne, Minister for Planning
“The Victorian Government supports an efficient, modern, sustainable and affordable energy system – the EES process will tell us exactly where we stand and how we can move forward, it’s important to get this right.”
Richard Wynne, Minister for Planning
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The only way to make a difference is to get involved. It’s easy to sit back and wait for others to do something but when you are staring at 75-85m towers in a few years time, you will kicking yourself for not doing something when you had the chance. This is OUR only chance to stop these towers, so get involved now.
Welcome to the home of Darley Power Fight. A group of residents in Darley, Coimadai and Merrimu, united against high voltage transmission towers passing through our backyard. We came together through the realisation the transmission line will divide a narrow corridor between Darley and the Lerderderg State Park; altering landscape character, causing widespread damage to critical habitat for threatened species, increasing fire risk to the Park and thousands of residents, destroy our visual amenity, harm local agriculture and will impact businesses and property values. It will completely desecrate, in a few years, what nature has taken millions of years to create.
