Battle lines drawn in the Illawarra over controversial offshore wind farm

A report looking at submissions from more than 14,000 locals have revealed their opinions on a controversial wind farm proposed for the Illawarra — and the battle lines have been drawn. See what they say.

An offshore wind farm proposed for NSW’s south coast has divided the tight-knit Illawarra community with 50 per cent of locals opposed to the project while the other half support it, don’t care or will support the proposal if the local environment is protected.

Almost 30 per cent of locals were supportive of the project, another 6 per cent were supportive but had some concerns while 2 per cent were indifferent.

A further 16 per cent were opposed but had specific concerns that could be addressed.

Analysis of more than 14,200 submissions released by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water (DCCEEW) showed 77 per cent of all respondents had concerns about the environmental impact of offshore wind farms.

Peter and Petrina Nips, locals opposed to the wind farm. Picture: Rohan Kelly

The report has lifted the lid on the community’s views as the Coalition aims to capitalise on the lack of cohesion to win over the Labor electorates of Whitlam and Cunningham.

Nationals Leader David Littleproud visited Wollongong on Monday and signalled the Coalition would have a “cap” on renewables.

“There is a cap on where we will go with renewables and where we will put them,” he said.

Many submissions — including from the Council — are calling for the project to be independently assessed for its environmental impact instead of by the project developer.

“(We understand) that the assessment of environmental impacts ... is part of the regulatory approvals process and the onus for undertaking such assessment is on the project developers and/or proponents,” the Council said in its submission.

“The community has expressed concerns over the transparency and integrity of such a process and it is recommended that consideration be given to the commissioning of independent impact assessment to complement the proponent-led studies.”

Another 66 per cent of locals were unhappy about the wind farms being an eyesore on the Illawarra’s natural beauty while 68 per cent were worried about the impact on tourism, property prices and the local community.

But support for the project is also growing with almost 5000 submissions noting the be benefit including local jobs.

The Australian Institute of Maritime Powers Engineers and the Australian Maritime Officers Union said the project can boost Illawarra’s “green” economy and could help “green steel” become a reality for Port Kembla.

The CFMEU and ETU also pushed for local manufacturing to be used in the project and for locals to be trained up in renewable energy jobs.

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