A wind farm that was proposed for north-west New South Wales is one of many that may never be operational, according to an energy expert.
Ark Energy, which was behind a bid to build a 55-turbine Doughboy Wind Farm, 50 kilometres east of Armidale, said in a statement last month the decision to withdraw the project was made “following a change of mind” from some of the nine landowners whose properties took in the project’s boundaries.
The project withdrawal came as rural communities in the 5 Renewable Energy Zones in NSW grappled with a wave of wind and solar developments, a situation Clean Energy Council Director of Energy, Nicholas Aberle found unusual.
However, it was a highlighted topic at last month’s NSW Farmer’s conference held in Sydney where, according to some farmers, one of the concerns was the influx of long term workers to the regions impacting small town infrastructure, whereby up to 5000 construction employees would only be serviced by one doctor, among other small town services.
