Wind Power in the Shoalhaven

Government time moves more slowly than regular time, especially when

a) there are perceived financial constraints

b) the political will doesn't exist

c) a combination of the above where the political will creates financial constraints.

This afternoon Shoalhaven Council will take some tiny baby steps towards furthering a sustainable future agenda, when it holds a briefing for Councillors on wind power options for the Shoalhaven.

This is not a new topic by any means as the Council showed support for wind power generation on rural land by including it as a valid use in the upcoming Local Environment Plan.

Also Council supported a joint initiative with the Southern Councils group (which includes Shoalhaven, Wingecarabbie, Eurobodalla, Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama) to pursue a wind power future for the South Coast area. This was the birthing of the Green Jobs Illawarra project which hopes to see our very own steel supply network start to manufacture wind components rather than import the lot from other countries and to train people in the necessary skills to develop the industry.

Anyway back to the wind briefing at Shoalhaven- The briefing will hopefully bring Councillors up to speed with the wind industry and what benefits there are for being part of the early entry into the wind market. from my perspective I see it as a fantastic opportunity for a community driven project that STOPS big power companies coming into our area and dictating the terms and conditions to us- but the reverse- a wind power project that includes people who want to be included through the issue of a prospectus. This idea is not new either and is based on the Bendigo bank model.

So what are the advantages of a community wind power project-it helps us to set the agenda and not wait for federal or state funding to provide us with non polluting energy-it wont happen- or it will be to little action too late.
We help to buffer ourselves from outrageous power costs as the state government seems to be struggling under the weight of rundown infrastructure and its desperate case to sell of power assets that are an uncertain investment in a carbon constrained world.
Its much easier for a community to get behind a project that is being driven locally. Unlike the Capital Wind project in Bungendore that was put upon the community -not to drive Canberra's power needs but to supply the massive amounts of power used by Sydney's desalination plant.
We don't have to have a massive wind installation- just one or two turbines within our landscape to help generate local power needs.
The installation of turbines sends a clear message to visitors to our area that we are serious about tackling climate change (as we should be with so many coastal assets  at risk).

Of course we will have to weigh up the positives with the negatives and hopefully today's briefing will at least give Councillors some background knowledge based in fact and not some gut reaction based on propaganda. It will be an interesting afternoon.