EXPRESS The
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Locally owned and proudly independent
WINDY HILL WIND FARM
IT’S TOO NOISY!
Nazif Demis, Plumb Murat, Skender Murat and Angel Kochi tuck in to celebrate the end of another day of Ramadan at Mareeba Muslim Society Hall.
Criticism of the Ravenshoe wind farm continues By Boyd Robertson
A report handed down at the latest Tablelands Regional Council (TRC) meeting would seem to answer complaints from residents about noise made by the Windy Hill wind farm at Ravenshoe, but council has refused to close the issue and is seeking further legal advice. The report, compiled by Noise Mapping Australia (NMA) on behalf of wind farm owners Ratch Corporation, was presented by Ben Hyde, an environmental engineer hired by council to review NMA’s findings, at the July 18 council meeting in Atherton. It responded to a complaint by Ravenshoe resident Colin Walkden, who lives 450m from the wind farm and has told council the noise of the turbines causes him continual sleep deprivation. Mr Walken hopes to have three of the closest turbines to his property shut down at night. NMA measured noise levels at Mr Walkden’s property between mid-February and mid-May this year to obtain the data for the report. According to both the report and Mr Hyde’s review, the noise levels at Mr Walkden’s property did not exceed the levels set by the Herberton Shire Council when they approved the construction on the wind farm in 1999. The wind farm, however, passed only marginally – at times generating noise levels within less than a decibel of the acceptable limit. Council resolved to obtain legal advice on the most appropriate response to the report, which was discussed in the confidential section of the meeting. During the presentation, Mr Hyde was grilled at length by Councillor Marjorie Pagani, an outspoken opponent of the proposed Mt Emerald wind farm, over the contents of his report. Cr Pagani called attention to previous noise monitoring reports given to council which showed that the Windy Hill turbines displayed ‘special auditory characteristics’ (SACs) that effectively increased their noise levels past the acceptable standards. Cr Pagani also pointed to the fact that NMA had measured noise levels during a low-wind period and not measured noise levels inside Mr Walkden’s house. Mr Hyde responded that he had simply followed council’s instructions in reviewing NMA’s data. The Express Newspaper understands that the cost of hiring an environmental consultant is about $30,000.
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