FNQ’s winds of eco-change

LOVE them or hate them, but the 53 wind turbines rising majestically on Mt Emerald on the Atherton Tablelands are a marvel of modern engineering.

The $380 million project is built on a barren plateau west of Walkamin, about halfway between Mareeba and Atherton.

It is expected during their 25-year lifetime they will generate an average of between 500 and 600 million KWh of safe, clean, renewable electricity annually.

That’s 75,000 homes, a third of the Far North’s electricity needs being supplied to Ergon Retail and connected to the electricity grid via a new substation owned and built by Queensland’s publicly-owned transmission operator, Powerlink.

Some say they will be harmful to the health of nearby residents, kill wildife, especially birds and bats, and reduce property values.

On the other hand it is expected to lead to a reduction of 450,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year or the equivalent of 100,000 cars off the road.

Construction boosted the local economy with about $66 million of direct investment into the Far North, about 200 positions filled by local workers and 20 businesses in the region winning contracts.

Furthermore each year $200,000 is distributed to community, sporting, cultural and educational groups as part of a community benefit fund.

Wind farms are fast becoming a part of modern society as we lessen our reliance on coal and gas fired power stations. More are planned in the Far North in addition to Mt Emerald and at Ravenshoe.

We must embrace them as we also anticipate far more electric cars on our roads. Nick Dalton Deputy editor