A long-standing and controversial wind farm project has been approved after the federal environment minister said Australia had to be “realistic” about the need for renewable energy.
After being trapped in political purgatory for eight years, ACEN Australia’s 100-turbine proposal for Robbins Island in Tasmania has finally been given the green light.
It has long been the subject of opposition from environmentalists, who have raised concerns about the impact on local wildlife.
But Environment Minister Murray Watt insisted he had struck the balance between the need for more renewable projects and strong environmental protections.
“It is important that proponents do the right thing and consult their communities, but we have to be realistic about the needs of our country for that renewable energy,” he told reporters in Canberra on Friday.
The wind farm is expected to generate enough energy to power 422,000 homes and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 3.4 million tonnes per year – the equivalent to taking more than a million cars off the road, according to the minister.
Environment advocates continue to raise concerns the project could further imperil the critically endangered migratory orange-bellied parrots.
There are also worries building a bridge to the island as part of the proposal would expose healthy Tasmanian devils to a deadly facial tumour disease that has wiped out two-thirds of the species population over the last three decades.
“The suggestion that we wipe out biodiversity for the sake of renewable energy that goes to the mainland … is ridiculous,” Bob Brown foundation patron and former Greens politician Christine Milne said.
The Labor government has imposed conditions to mitigate some of these worries, including funding for an orange-bellied parrot conservation program and barriers to prevent mainland Tasmanian devils from transmitting the tumour disease.
No wind turbines or other infrastructure can be built within one kilometre of a Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagle nest.
Construction on the $3 billion development is expected to begin in 2031 and will support 350 direct jobs alongside another 50 ongoing operational jobs.
ACEN Australia said the approval was a step in the right direction.
“The decision shows that large, complex projects can be delivered responsibly, balancing overall impacts and conserving biodiversity, with the need for clean energy to address climate change,” ACEN Australia managing director David Pollington said.
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