Farming heartland to become energy hub with more than 260 wind turbines

In short:

Local governments in Western Australia want more stringent planning policies with hundreds of turbines to be built in the coming years.

Three projects earmarked for development will double the current wind power on the south west energy grid.

What’s next?

The state government says it will monitor and review the current planning framework for renewable energy projects.

For more than a century this patch of Australia has been known for sheep and cropping but it could soon be transformed into an energy hub with more than 260 wind turbines dotted across the landscape.

Just over the Darling Scarp, about 160 kilometres south of Perth, the shires of Narrogin, Williams and Arthur River sit on the border of the Wheatbelt and Great Southern, home to some of Australia’s most lucrative and productive farmland.

But as demand for electricity rises, energy companies are stepping in with plans to transform pastures into wind farms over the next decade.

Local governments are concerned wind farm developers are ignoring planning policies while the state government scrambles to keep up with the booming sector. 

Three projects in development are expected to more than double the wind power being pumped into the South West Integrated System (SWIS), the state’s largest electricity grid.

With hundreds of turbines up to 250 metres tall to be built in the coming years, some shires want the state government to provide “serious” policies for developers that support regional communities.

Developers side-stepping policy

The town of Narrogin is one community involved in the energy transformation, with a 300-megawatt wind farm earmarked for construction, 14km west of the town centre.

French-based Neoen Australia announced plans to build about 50 turbines between 150 and 270 metres tall on freehold land between Narrogin and Williams in 2023.

Narrogin Shire President Leigh Ballard said the Shire created a planning policy to ensure the development was in line with community expectations, but claimed Neoen ignored the policy.

“They weren’t overly happy with the new policy we put in place and have since gone to the state to bypass the council,” he said.

Cr Ballard said the policy included setback distances from neighbouring boundaries equal to three times the height of the turbine, intended to minimise environmental, visual and noise issues associated with turbines.

While Cr Ballard said the decision to bypass the community-informed planning policy was a concern, the shire was working through the issue.

“They still have to think about our policy, but the state will tell them whether they need to adhere to it or not,” he said.

“We’re trying to work with the state to try and make sure that they have some serious strategies in place because their current guidelines we don’t believe are good enough.”

Neoen Australia and Planning Minister John Carey were approached to discuss the Narrogin wind project but declined to comment.

Planning under review 

The WA government wants to reach net zero emissions by 2050 sparking the renewable race. 

A spokesperson for the state government said changes had been made to the approval pathways for projects classed as “significant developments” to provide consistent, expert and transparent decisions.

“The new significant development pathway became operational on 1 March 2024 and provides a tailored assessment option for complex and significant development proposals such as renewable energy projects,” they said.

“The state government will continue to monitor and review the current planning framework that applies to renewable energy projects into the future.”

The concerns raised by Cr Ballard are being felt in other regions including the Shire of West Arthur where a 100-turbine farm due to go online in 2027 is in development.

The 600-megawatt farm being developed by Green Wind Energy is expected to be the most productive on the SWIS at the time of its completion.

But West Arthur chief executive Vincent Fordham Lamont said with more energy projects in the pipeline and other critical infrastructure needed to connect and store energy, developers were being forced to wait as the state government played policy catch-up.

“Local governments around the state have renewable energy companies almost ready to submit their development applications,” he said.

“There is no supporting framework to ensure that LGs and proponents must meet and agree upon mutually agreeable guidelines for community benefit.

“We would ask that the state government develop a framework to manage the energy transition to ensure community benefit, this needs to happen now.”

Farms to fill ‘blackhole’

The Great Southern energy boom has also seen the world’s largest independent energy company Renewable Energy Solutions (RES) propose a 120-turbine, 800-megawatt wind farm to be developed at Dardadine in the Shire of Williams.

RES Australia director Greg Wilkinson said the company would submit its planning proposal next year, with community engagement to begin later this year but no completion date was given.

Mr Wilkinson estimated the project would produce enough electricity to power 650,000 houses once complete.

Energy analyst Ray Wills said it was likely all three projects would progress from development to the construction phase with energy demand outstripping supply. 

“There’s a big black hole where we haven’t built wind farms in the last 10 years, there’s plenty of space,” Professor Wills said.

“We’ve got around 800 megs of wind to date on the SWIS, or thereabouts, [developments] are going to increase that total number to about 2500.

“That’s getting to about the magnitude that we need for existing uses of energy on our grid of electricity.”