DEAR News Of The Area,

In his letter from 26 September, Ben Abbott asks who is going to come forward and make it clear what misinformation is being spread.

Please allow me.

Let us look at what’s been put out there by each side to date.

Statements from the Government and supporters of offshore wind farms

● ‘They will reduce carbon emissions’. The fact is they do.

● ‘There has been Public Consultation regarding the proposal’. Following Public Consultation the minimum distance turbines can be installed is 20 km offshore, increased from the original ten km limit.

● ‘Some parts of the turbines will be visible from the shore under optimal conditions’. I am one of the people who argued that only the tips of the blades would be visible and the government has now clearly identified that this will be possible. The naccels of the turbines will not be easily seen, if at all.

● ‘Floating turbines will benefit biodiversity and create nurseries and reef-like structures’. In 2019 following some initial research the Centre For Research on Marine Ecosystems – University of Perpinan placed a Biodiversity Observation Bouy (BOB) consisting of 16 Biohut® units in the area where a French floating wind farm was being installed. It was found that there was an increase in biodiversity in and around the BOB. Proof in this case that floating facilities can create better marine environments.

● ‘Offshore wind will generate jobs’. In Europe alone, the number of new wind technicians is expected to increase by around 48,800 jobs per year from 2023 to 2027. Any jobs lost in the Port Stephens tourism/hospitality sector will be offset by significant job growth in the offshore power industry leading to a higher skilled and more technologically advanced workforce for generations to come.

Statements from No Offshore Turbines Port Stephens (NOTPS) and those against offshore wind farms

● ‘There has been inadequate public consultation but other talks between stakeholders’. The impact from the “one public meeting” has seen the minimum distance turbines can be installed being revised to 20 km, up from ten km. It is early days, there is a long way to go before the first turbines will be installed.

● ‘The turbines will be visible from the shore’. The government has admitted as much. NOTPS continues to imply all the turbines will be visible from the beach, which is simply not true.

● ‘High intensity navigation lights will be flashing at night’. I haven’t heard of anyone complaining about current navigation lights situated offshore including shipping.

● ‘There is no scientific data that supports floating facilities creating nurseries and acting as reefs’. Yet there is such data in the university study above which supports the claim that they do.

● ‘Floating offshore wind farms are untried technology and haven’t been installed anywhere else in the world. This makes the technology inherently dangerous to the environment and the public’. Ben Abbott refers to the 25MWh WindFloat Atlantic project regarding the negative impact of offshore wind farms on the fishing industry and ecosystems. He fails to mention that this project has been providing power to Portugal for around four years and is one of several floating wind farms either commissioned or under construction.

● ‘Fishermen (in Portugal) reported that “the fish simply disappeared” … that 90% of all flathead sold in Sydney comes from the wind turbine zone’. Commercial fishing in the Viana Do Castelo region remains robust and is one of the main industries of the region.

● ‘Migrating birds will be decimated by the wind farms’. There is little data that supports this claim and while they can have a negative impact, studies have shown that bird deaths linked to wind turbines is around 0.3 birds/GWh of power. The number of deaths from nuclear power is 0.64 birds/GWh and fossil fuel is 5.2/GWh. Feral animals pose a greater threat to migrating birds such as the Gould’s Petrel than offshore wind farms.

● ‘It’s hardly misinformation to question whether Eastern Lows have been considered’.

Storm Ciaran posed unprecedented challenges to the WindFloat Atlantic project, with waves reaching a staggering maximum height of 20 metres and wind gusts of up to 139 kilometres per hour. No damage was recorded.

● ‘One blade, that’s all, one blade failure could potentially shut down beaches from The Entrance to Seal Rocks’. Why?

The truth of the matter is both sides are at fault when it comes to some form of misinformation, be it deliberate or being selective with the information supplied.

Every group with some sort of agenda ignores rational points and cherry picks those facts which ultimately support their ‘Truth Telling’.

It’s human nature and the strategy favoured by today’s society, rather than honest open debate.

By Bill DORAN,
Tanilba Bay.