Wind Farm Study’s Key Finding is: “Go For It!”

The community sent a clear message to build a community wind farm in New England. Your comments and feedback are needed, particularly regarding the two key proposals detailed below. A Quick Poll online or can be completed over the phone by contacting Elizabeth Gardiner on {local prefix}8-7249 or Adam Blakester on {local prefix}5-2501.

The QuickPoll is open until 15 June 2011.

Two Key Proposals

• Proceed with an 8 turbine community wind farm, capable of producing electricity equivalent to 25,000 people (9,000 dwellings) ~ close to half the residential use of the New England Tablelands.

See the Preliminary Findings & Recommendations Report for full details.

This will require strong community backing to raise the necessary $30m ~ a bit more than twice the amount recently invested in small-scale solar and wind power in the New England ~ and to make sure that this truly is a wind farm for our community.  We are recommending the majority of these funds will need to come from local people and local organisations so they are the majority owner of the operation.

• The recommended legal structure to ensure this clear community underpinning is a ‘hybrid’ structure that blends together a Co-operative ~ for strong community governance and leadership ~ which will be the majority owner of the wind farm operator, an unlisted public company which will have professional leadership, expertise and a minority ownership stake by larger investors as well as borrowings if required.

See the Governance Models Options Analysis.

Please take a moment to give your feedback on these Proposals by completing the Quick Poll  NOW.

More than 1,300 community members and stakeholders have been involved in the Study: attending one or more of the forums (land holders, investors and community members), completing the online survey,  at public presentations or in smaller meetings.

There was a widely held view that times have changed and we need clean, renewable energy to move beyond coal-fired electricity now.

Over 100 landholders have expressed an interest in hosting turbines. Further details will be sought from each of these landholders in the next stage of work to assess their feasibility.