Farmers ‘no longer speaking’ over secret wind turbine deals

A town in regional NSW is being torn apart after it was revealed some landholders made confidential deals with a Net Zero company to host 260m turbines, while their neighbours will go without the same compensation.

Angus Oberg and daughter, Emma Webb on their property “Leswell.” Mrs Webb said they would refuse to “sell out” her community. Picture: Martin Ollman

A leading Net Zero company made secret financial deals with landowners in a tiny NSW town, which has left neighbours at war and multi-generational farmers fearing for their future.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal Melbourne-based firm Wind Prospect recently signed up several residents to host more than 90 giant turbines between Binalong and Bowning, while leaving nearby properties out of the negotiations.

The agreements have been secured years before this $1.6 billion project will be ready for government approval, and as Wind Prospect insists it is “engaging respectfully and transparently with the community.”

Local sheep farmers who were not included in the initial negotiations are facing the prospect of structures nearly the size of Sydney’s Crown Barangaroo towering over their land, while the neighbouring properties reap the lucrative rewards for hosting turbines for decades.

Anyone who is not required as part of the project’s boundaries is not currently in line for the same compensation. The wind turbines won’t directly reduce their electricity bills, and long-time locals also believe their land value will fall dramatically.

Angus Oberg, whose family have lived on 2,000 acres since the 1950s, said the saga had resulted in “people who were once friends no longer talking to each other.”

“We’re feeling very vulnerable at the moment and we don’t take kindly to it. We love our seclusion and our peace and quiet out here and that’s going to be destroyed,” Mr Oberg said.

His daughter Emma Webb also lives on the property with her husband Lachie and their three children. Emma’s siblings are in Sydney and she has been tasked with continuing the family’s wool business into the future.

Standing next to her fence at “Leswell”, just metres away from where some of the 260 metre turbines would be installed, Mrs Webb said: “we have no way to opt out of this. Once someone signs up as hosts, we fear we won’t be able to stop this.”

“Most farmers don’t have superannuation. Our wealth is tied up in the land. And the prospect of having a massive drop in land value is devastating” Ms Webb said.

Mrs Webb said she had been alerted to Wind Prospect’s plans when she received a call from her neighbour in March, who advised her they had agreed to host several wind turbines, and she should “consider getting involved in the action.”

Instead, she decided to take the green energy company head on by becoming president of the local Binalong Bowning Community Action Group.

Angus Oberg and daughter, Emma Webb on their property “Leswell.” Mrs Webb said they would refuse to “sell out” her community. Picture: Martin Ollman

The map from Wind Prospect showing more than 90 proposed wind turbines. Source: Wind Prospect

Curiously, Mrs Webb also claimed she received a call from Wind Prospect just hours after launching her campaign, who were suddenly inquiring if she would host turbines on her property, an offer which was immediately rejected.

A short drive from Leswell this masthead greets Will and Lisa Grogan, who have also been left out of Wind Prospect’s confidential agreements. Their family has called this region home since World War II.

“There is so much uncertainty here. We are all hoping to one day be able to subdivide our property to secure our future. The turbines will be very close,” Will Grogan said.

“If we lived in Sydney - and our neighbours wanted to build a granny flat or a block of units on their land … I reckon we would have more power to stop it than what we do here with this wind farm” he said.

On the other side of this project’s boundaries sits the town of Binalong, where Australia’s most famous poet Banjo Paterson lived as a child. The population in this community, which has been largely untouched from its historical routes, is just 550 people.

Sheep farmers Will and Lisa Grogan on their property. The pair have plans to subdivide their land and fear the turbines will be “very, very close.” Picture: Martin Ollman

Anne and Paul Glover at their property in Binalong, next to a sign opposing the Bendenine Wind Farm project. Picture: Supplied

Anne and Paul Glover’s roots in this area date back centuries. Their land will be next door to turbines if this project proceeds.

“It’s unfair. Some people in this community could now make millions of dollars, while others could lose millions in land value” Anne told this masthead.

“Our retirement plans are shot.” she said.

A spokesperson for Wind Prospect confirmed several residents had signed “land access agreements ahead of broader community engagement” but declined to provide details due to “commercial-in-confidence.”

The company also said it would be developing “a benefit-sharing arrangement for nearby neighbours, in line with mandatory NSW Government guidelines” but did not elaborate on details.

Wind Prospect declined to comment on claims they had offered Emma Webb a hosting deal after she launched her action group.

Originally published as Farmers ‘no longer speaking’ over secret wind turbine deals