Premier Barry O’Farrell’s ‘personal comments’ yesterday about not wanting to see new wind farms
approved, the roll back of the solar bonus scheme and an ongoing political campaign against the Federal
clean energy package are creating a climate of uncertainty for renewable energy investment in NSW,
according to the Nature Conservation Council of NSW.
“The State government will have a tough time meeting its 20 per cent renewable energy by 2020 target
if the NSW Premier continues to back business as usual over the growth of clean power such as wind
and solar‐thermal,” Chief Executive Officer Pepe Clarke said today.
“Wind energy is a mature technology capable of producing large‐scale clean energy and reducing the
state’s carbon pollution. It is also one of the best ways of meeting the Government’s renewable energy
target on time and in a cost effective way.
“Right now, there is more than $10.4 billion worth of wind farm proposals waiting for the green light to
generate enough power for more than 2.3 million homes.
“While local concerns about power generation proposals must be sensitively addressed, many of the
matters which arise with wind power can be reduced or eliminated with careful management and
appropriate site selection, while others have little supporting evidence.
“The Premier’s overblown opposition to wind farms seems out of proportion with the devastating
impacts of coal mining and polluting coal‐fired power on our community and our environment.
“State government research and recent local community doorknocking surveys show the overwhelming
majority of the community supports the expansion of wind power and renewable energy.
“Now the State government must get on board to unlock the huge potential in making NSW a clean
energy leader, with the potential for more than $12.7 billion in investment and about 1220 new jobs
each year,” Mr Clarke said.
