Alarm over proposed wind farm change of ownership
An international mining conglomerate has snapped up the company behind the mooted Chalumbin wind farm near Ravenshoe and conservationists are alarmed.
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CONSERVATIONISTS opposing the mooted Chalumbin Wind Farm near Ravenshoe have expressed alarm the company working on the project has been snapped up by a South Korean mining giant.
The wind and solar energy developer Epuron was bought last month by Ark Energy Corporation, the Australian subsidiary of Korea Zinc Company.
Korea Zinc owns the Sun Metals zinc refinery in Townsville.
Ark Energy chairman Yun Choi said the acquisition would contribute to Ark’s long-term ambition to develop a new green energy export corridor from Australia to South Korea.
The Chalumbin Wind Farm proposal involves up to 95 wind turbines with assessment work under way.
Rainforest Reserves Australia president Carolyn Emms said it was disturbing that all wind farm developments on the Tablelands were foreign-owned.
She said the Thai company Ratch was behind Mt Emerald and Windy Hill while French company Neoen was behind the Kaban wind farm and the proposed Desailly Energy Park was headed up by Irish-owned DP Energy.
“All the wind developments on the Tablelands are foreign owned,” Ms Emms said.
“It should worry Australians that multinational corporations are getting access to our land and clearing our precious wilderness for profit.
“The acquisition of Epuron may place further pressure on the Federal Government to approve ecologically devastating heavy industrial projects, like the Chalumbin wind development, to keep global investors keen to capitalise on our natural riches - do these foreign-owned companies even pay any Australian tax?”
She said vulnerable species including the Magnificent Broodfrog and the Greater Glider would be placed at risk from habitat loss if Chalumbin went ahead.
Turbine blades rotating at 216km per hour would knock out flying animals and ground-dwellers would have to survive in fragmented, degraded or cleared habitat.
Epuron said in its most recent update the proposal had been revised to 94 turbines and overall clearing cut from 1,250ha to 1,132ha – less than 4 per cent of the land area.
It said the Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment had determined that it would assess the proposal under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
Although the development application goes to the state government, the federal government can block it using the EPBC act.
Federal MP for Kennedy Bob Katter has said the proposal would turn a natural wonderland in to an industrial wasteland.
State MP for Hill Shane Knuth said the wind farm would threaten 1250ha of land bordering the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, which was home to 200 recorded species of animals.
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Originally published as Alarm over proposed wind farm change of ownership
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