Creating a city of windmills

I would like to draw attention to the current proposals to fill our landscape with wind farms.

The proposed Warracknabeal Energy Park will stretch from west of Warracknabeal to north of Brim and west of the Warracknabeal Aerodrome.

It is a huge project of between 200 and 220 turbines, each up to 280m tall, just below the height of the Eureka Tower in Melbourne.

It is a city of 200-plus skyscapers to be built in our unique and very special landscape.

Another project between Warracknabeal and Birchip, the Wilkur Energy Park, will home 97 turbines of the same size.

There are also projects proposed for Beulah West-hopetoun, Curyo, Morton Plains and others near Horsham – and these are only the ones that I know about.

These projects will significantly alter our landscape with a very little benefit to our community who have to live with them every day.

Transmission lines are proposed to crisscross the whole state.

Tourism will be destroyed. Who wants to visit an industrial wasteland?

The environmental impact has been well documented internationally, with significant and catastrophic effects on birds and underground creatures, not to mention the concrete that will be left in the ground at the end of the life of the projects, 15 to 25 years, at between 800 and 950 tonnes of concrete per turbine.

These projects will limit the food production on this land.

The Wimmera and Mallee is part of Australia’s food bowl, supplying food to Australia and the world.

In a world of increasing population, protection of the food supply is imperative.

These and many other issues are of great concern to the community.