Bob Brown Foundation awaits decision in bid to stop Robbins Island wind farm

Wind farms will never be compatible with the unique environment of Robbins Island, the Bob Brown Foundation has said, as the organisation awaits a tribunal decision. Latest

The proposed site of the Robbins Island wind farm development from Bevan Anderson's property at Montague. PICTURE CHRIS KIDD

Wind farms will never be compatible with the unique environment of Robbins Island, the Bob Brown Foundation has said, as the organisation awaits a decision from a marathon appeal in the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

Over the last three weeks, the TASCAT heard from multiple appellants - including the Bob Brown Foundation - against the conditional approval of a 122-turbine wind farm proposed for the North-West site by renewable energy company ACEN Australia.

One of the appellants was ACEN itself, which appealed the Environment Protection Authority requirements that its turbines sit idle for five months of the year to protect endangered orange bellied parrots during their migration season.

Bob Brown Foundation spokesman Scott Jordan said that protecting the rare parrot was a key motivation behind the appeal, but that the Robbins Island wind farm would also negatively impact other species.

“There are 77 orange bellied parrots left on the planet,” Mr Jordan said.

“The species is on the brink, and this wind farm is right in their migratory path.

“But it’s also the migratory path for a whole lot of other birds including another four critically endangered species that didn’t get the same protections in terms of a shutdown period that was given to the orange bellied parrot.”

Mr Jordan said that in addition to animal life, Robbins Island was also home to four geoheritage sites, including Remarkable Banks, which represents a global index site for sea level rises during the last interglacial period.

Bob Brown Foundation spokesman Scott Jordan Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

But the Bob Brown Foundation also presented economic reasons as to why ACEN’s proposal should be knocked back, according to Mr Jordan.

“You couldn’t pick a worse spot for a wind farm of this size, and the experts we brought forward were very strong on shore birds, on the orange bellied parrot, and the geoheritage reasons,” he said.

“This project is not about energy for Tasmania, but energy for export. But, of course, we the taxpayer pick up the cost for the transmission.

“We walked out of the hearing feeling that the case has been made very strongly about why this project should not go ahead.”

ACEN Australia CEO David Pollington said the Tasmanian Civil & Administrative Tribunal process was still running.

“The tribunal is considering the substantial evidence provided by ACEN Australia,” he said.

“While we don’t believe it is appropriate to comment on the specifics while the tribunal is still considering the matter, we are confident that we have been able to mitigate any of the perceived negative impacts related to our development, and that it will have a positive impact for Tasmania, Tasmanians and the broader issue of climate change.”

Mr Jordan said the Bob Brown Foundations supported renewable energy projects “in the right location”, and said the organisation had never opposed wind farms per se.

But he said that there had been projects presented, including at Robbins Island, that had not properly considered the biodiversity impacts.

“Climate change and biodiversity are two sides of the same coin,” he said.

“We can’t put forward projects that address one, if they have an impact on the other.

“One of the issues we have at the moment in the whole question of where wind farms go is being thrown to private industry, who always want the most profitable location.

“And this is not always going to be best for threatened species.”

Mr Jordan said he was not expecting a decision from TASCAT on the appeal until at least November.