Renewables provider to consult with Kerrs Creek community over wind farm proposal

Independent renewable energy company RES Australia is proposing to transform a 9,500-hectare site between the communities of Kerrs Creek and Euchareena - about 30 kilometres outside of Molong - into a 63-turbine wind farm.

Will McGrane, Development Project Manager for the Kerrs Creek Wind Farm project, said the community meeting set to be held at Euchareena Hall on the 23rd of January would be an informal opportunity for locals to meet the RES project team, learn more about the proposal and give feedback.

"The local community is a crucial part of our development process and for the project to succeed we need the support of the surrounding communities, local councils as well as the Department of Planning and Environment," he said.

Since the project was announced in March 2021 there have been a number of changes made to the project's design based on community feedback, said Mr McGrane.

"Feedback from the community was taken in alongside that of the state department in order to revise our layout to better suit the local communities," he said.

"We've had generally positive feedback from the community. But of course there are always members of the community who are concerned about things like noise and visual impact. And those are things we will address particularly over the next 12 to 18 months.

That's what these information sessions are good for - so people can highlight issues that we might have otherwise missed because we haven't been on the ground from their property."

Currently the land earmarked for the project is used by local farmers for cattle and sheep grazing. RES Australia says the project will be able to "effectively co-exist" with the land's existing agricultural use and will occupy less than 2 percent of its total area.

They say the site was selected as it had ideal windy conditions, excellent access to the energy network, the current use by graziers would complement the wind farm and local soil and terrain are "ideal" to facilitate the construction of a wind farm.

As well as creating up to 880 jobs in the local community during its construction phase, Mr McGrane said the project would have a number of other benefits for the community.

"Things like accommodation in nearby towns as well as transport, bars, pubs and cafes normally get a bit of an uplift from having a constant workforce that's living in the area for the two years while it's being constructed," he said.

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The community information session about the project will run from 2:00pm to 7:00pm on Monday January 23 at Euchareena Hall. There will not be a formal presentation on the day and locals are welcome to drop by at any time that is convenient.

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