A billion-dollar wind farm project, slated to generate hundreds of millions for the Tasmanian economy is facing legal action from a local community group opposed to its year-round operation after an order to shut down its operations was overturned in November.
The Robbins Island project is located in the Circular Head region of northwest Tasmania and is to be built by ACEN Australia who specialise in large-scale renewable energy projects.
ACEN is the listed energy platform of the Ayala Group which owns facilities in the Philippines, Australia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and India.
On its website, the group said it aims to “turbocharge growth fivefold to assemble 20 GW of renewables capacity by 2030” along with plans to achieve net zero greenhouse emissions by 2050.
Over the last four years, community group Circular Head Coastal Awareness Network has opposed the 100-turbine wind farm’s construction, and announced on Jan. 9, that they had lodged a Supreme Court action after an earlier decision to limit ACEN’s operations to five months a year, was repealed by the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
The group opposes the installation of wind farms on Robbins Island as the location overlaps with the migratory path of the orange-bellied parrot, whose adult number in the wild is estimated at 81.
Chairman Steve Pilkington told the ABC that his group believes the farm could be located elsewhere, “We’ve been fighting this project for four years, and … we’ve had a logical argument that this is the most important environmental place that you could pick to have a wind farm, and it’s wrong.”
ACEN has said the five-year limitation on operations at the site was “unviable,” and the project was an economic boon to the area with $30 million a year expected to be added to the local economy over the next 25 years through construction and service jobs.
In a media statement, David Pollington, managing director of ACEN Australia, said the decision by the Tribunal to remove the Tasmania Environment Protection Agency’s “ disproportionate” shutdown was “welcome news to ACEN Australia.”
“The Tribunal’s decision to remove the EPA’s disproportionate five-month shutdown condition as part of its project approval for Robbins Island Wind is welcome news to ACEN Australia and I am sure other renewable energy developers right across the nation.”
Mr. Pollington added that ACEN had done a thorough assessment of the environmental impact.
“The outcome reflects the considerable effort that has gone into conducting a comprehensive environmental assessment, ensuring the project aligns with ACEN Australia’s commitment to responsible and sustainable development,” he said.
ACEN has committed to remediating the potential issue of birds being struck by turbine blades by reducing the planned number of turbines and lowering their height.
A proviso to the projects’ approval is a condition whereby ACEN will pay $100,000 for every death of an orange-bellied parrot, or the similarly endangered wedge-tailed eagle.
In November 2023, Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff was quoted as saying the decision to overturn the five-month limit was a “pragmatic outcome” that recognised an “appropriate balance needs to be struck between enabling renewable energy projects and protecting our native species.”
The action taken by Circular Head Coastal Awareness Network is expected to be heard in the Supreme Court sometime in February.
