AgForce is increasingly concerned that delays to urgently needed reforms to the Wind Farm Code could put agricultural landholders at potentially crippling financial risk.
Queensland’s peak representative body for farmers is disappointed that despite a review of the Wind Farm Code last year, the Queensland Government has not released any reforms to the Code since.
AgForce is now urging any primary producers considering hosting wind turbines on their property to take extra precautions.
CEO Michael Guerin says it’s vital that landholders not jeopardise the future of their farms by being too hasty to develop before proper policy protections are in place.
“AgForce recommends that any landholder considering hosting wind turbines insist on a bank guarantee from the wind farm company to cover the cost of decommissioning the wind farm,” Mr Guerin says.
“This covers you in case the wind farm company fails to perform the decommissioning themselves.
“It’s also the advice from the Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner.”
Mr Guerin says that proper security in the form of a bank guarantee must be sought by landholders before any development takes place, to ensure they are not potentially burdened with the huge costs associated with decommissioning the wind farm.
“Through necessity this system of security was developed in the resource industry to ensure that huge rehabilitation costs were not worn by the taxpayer,” he says.
“We are increasingly concerned that the Queensland Government has not addressed this in the same way that it brought in legislation for the resource industry to ensure bank guarantees cover decommissioning as part of the approvals process.”
AgForce is aware that the Queensland Government is currently reviewing the Wind Farm Code, and was expecting a revised Code would be released in early 2024.
“But we are now in July and there is no revised Code,” Mr Guerin says.
“AgForce made a detailed submission to the Queensland Government regarding the review and would welcome the opportunity to have further input.
“It is very concerning to us that the Queensland Government has not resolved this issue, whilst at the same time landholders are being encouraged by wind farm companies to sign agreements without proper security in the form of a bank guarantee.
“We do not consider promises to pay into funds at some future date as constituting proper security.”
He says the policy reforms are particularly needed to safeguard against statements such as those made recently by former corporate adviser on Low Emissions Technology and former ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel that approvals processes for renewable energy projects are taking too long (ABC’s Southern Queensland and Capricornia Rural Report, 16 July).
Dr Finkel told the ABC that this gave other countries a competitive advantage to meet their global emissions reduction targets, and that Australia should follow Europe’s example by requiring that a project is either approved or denied within 12 months and that regulators and the courts must take into account the overriding public interest in making the decision.
AgForce has serious concerns with the ideology that it doesn’t matter if local biodiversity is impacted if the overriding public interest is served to reduce global warming and global biodiversity damage.
“Such statements completely ignore the rights of landholder who will be hosting these renewable energy projects and reinforces the idea for city voters that destroying farmland is for the greater good,” Mr Guerin says.
