Proposed Victorian wind farm has ‘shattered the trust’ of tiny town

A planned 164-turbine wind farm in western Victoria from ‘Twiggy Forest’s’ Squadron Energy has concerned local landholders.

A wind farm proposal in Victoria’s west “has shattered the trust” in the tight-knit community at Tatyoon.

Squadron Energy’s proposed Ballyrogan Wind Farm, located about 10km south of Ararat, will have about 164 wind turbines and a battery energy storage system, with the project aiming to produce enough electricity to power around 1.1m homes.

Concerns have arisen over noise pollution and the impact on biodiversity, but it’s the consultation process that is causing the most angst across the tight-knit community.

“The objections we’ve really had around that, is that there’s basically five weeks’ notice since we became aware of the proposal, to when Squadron is submitting their first application to the planning minister,” concerned Tatyoon resident Sue Knight said.

“I don’t think that meets any sort of criteria for adequate community consultation.”

Ms Knight said they’ve been told the submission Squadron will make to the planning minister on August 5 is 500 pages long.

“They keep using this term ‘we’re in the early stages’; that is absolutely untrue,” she said.

“The turbine host families were signed up, we think 2, 3, 4 years ago. We’re not really sure because there’s been no transparency with that process.”

The Clarke Creek Wind Farm north west of Rockhampton is another Squadron Energy project. Picture: Steven Nowakowksi

Squadron Energy General Manager Development Alastair Smith said the company acquired the rights to Ballyrogan in December 2022, and had since been assessing its feasibility and whether it was a good fit for the area.

“Squadron Energy’s proposed Ballyrogan Wind Farm is still years away from lodging a development application,” he said.

“We’re taking an early step with the Victorian Government to confirm what environmental assessments will be needed before any future application, one part of a long process that will involve further studies and ongoing community input.”

Squadron hosted two community information sessions at the end of June, and Ms Knight said Squadron “guaranteed” locals they would return for a third, but residents haven’t heard anything.

23-year-old Hamish McDougall, who is seventh-generation in the area, said it was “indescribable the disappointment you feel” at the thought of people in a similar position who will be looking at potentially leaving the area as a result of the wind farm.

“In the case of my grandparents’ place, there’s 21 turbines within 2000m of the house. There are plenty of other people in that situation, and we’re going to be the ones that are looking to bring up families, with the noise pollution flickering in the background,” he said.