Farmer expresses concerns about Mount Hopeful Wind Farm

A farmer has concerns about a new wind farm as public comment opens, saying he’s been offered a “deal” “not in their favour”. Here’s everything you need to know.

NEWS: David Clark Farmer and Municipal Association of Victoria president David Clark PICTURED: Generic wind turbines. Wind farm. PICTURE: ZOE PHILLIPS

A grazier next to the planned Mount Hopeful Wind Farm is worried about the future of his cattle property as he agonises over whether to sell it to the company behind the project.

Land surrounding the 63-turbine project development, based 13 km southeast of Mount Morgan, 50 km south of Rockhampton or 70 km west of Gladstone, is used for cattle grazing and farmland to grow cotton and lucerne.

The neighbouring farmer, who requested not to be named, said they were offered a “deal” “not in their favour”.

The neighbour, who owns about 10,000 acres of land for cattle grazing, is still in consultation with Neoen.

“At the moment, I’ve got three options; I keep the land and do nothing, I lease it to them, or I sell it,” he said.

“The offer they gave me for my land was equivalent to $121 to $192 an acre.”

The wind farm will be situated in Central Queensland, within the Banana Shire and the Rockhampton Regional council areas. Picture: Neoen.

The neighbour claimed another farmer in the area was offered $500 an acre, which increased to a payout of $741 an acre.

A Neoen spokeswoman told this publication they were unable to discuss individual deals given confidentiality agreements.

“Neoen is committed to negotiating in good faith with offers based on independent external market valuations,” she said.

The neighbour also expressed concerns over how the wind farm would impact their lifestyle.

“Due to the labour shortage, we’ve been mustering with helicopters… we just don’t know how that will work with these big turbines,” he said.

Neoen has stated the wind farm will create 220 direct jobs during construction, and eight to 12 direct jobs during the estimated 30 year lifespan of the facility.

With planning due to start in the first quarter of 2024 for the Mount Hopeful wind farm, invitations for public comment have been opened.

PICTURE: ZOE PHILLIPS

It has stated it would create a community fund of approximately $100,000, and will support local agriculture by “providing diversified revenue”, as part of their commitment to the area.

Umwelt, an environmental consultancy, stated in their assessment of the area, that several endangered and native species are likely to be impacted in the construction process, including collared delma, the northern quoll, and large-seeded sago.

Neoen’s spokeswoman said that sustainability was at the heart of the company’s operations.

“Our biodiversity policy acts as a framework to ensure biodiversity conservation is embedded in our projects,” she said.

“We work to avoid and minimise environmental impacts through extensive multi-year ecology surveys which inform the project’s detailed design.”

While it is unclear how much land will be required to house the turbines, it is estimated that 65 per cent of the area will be impacted in some way.

The French renewables giant recently expanded to Queensland, with projects underway in northern, western and southeast parts of the state.