Wind Farm Transport Plans Threaten Century-Old WWI Memorial Trees in New South Wales

Branches of a dozen 100-year-old trees that form part of a World War I memorial will be hit as part of plans to transport turbines for a proposed wind farm near the Blue Mountains, leaving residents concerned it will cause irreversible damage.

A study commissioned by Global Power Generation (GPG), the proponents of the Paling Yards Wind Farm south of Oberon on the New South Wales Central Tablelands, found trucks transporting the turbines will make contact with trees that make up the nearby O'Connell Anzac Memorial Avenue.

Between 1925 and 1927, 120 desert ash trees were planted to honour the 66 men and women from the district who served in WWI.

The proposal is seeking approval for the construction of 47 turbines, each 240 metres tall, generating enough power for the equivalent of 100,000 homes.

The project has been referred to the National Environmental Protection Agency due to the development's potentially significant impact on four endangered species, including the gang-gang cockatoo and koala.

Historic trees hit

A report commissioned by GPG found the trucks transporting the turbines would make contact of between 50 centimetres and 1.25 metres with 12 of the trees.

The study concluded the extent of the contact would be "limited to leaves and minor branches" with "no impact on tree trunks and major branches".

However, Kathy Manton from the Community Guardians of the O'Connell Anzac Memorial Avenue said it would cause "irreversible" damage to the trees.

"They're 100-year-old trees … they won't grow back from wherever they're damaged or cut," she said.

Local resident and member of the Oberon Against Wind Towers group Chris Muldoon said the findings of the study were "damning".

"This is a memorial that celebrated its centenary this year, it is a significant local memorial for people who served in the Great War," he said.

GPG has been contacted for comment.

Mitigation measures recommended

In order to mitigate against damaging the memorial, the study recommended the trucks drive "slowly" past the trees and are "visually monitored" at contact areas to ensure branches are not "caught or dragged" by the vehicles.

"Is that what we're going to rely on? That is just unacceptable," Mr Muldoon said.

"These trees are sensitive… They were planted 100-years-ago, grown as seedlings from the Middle East.

The report commissioned by GPG used remote sensing analysis to create a virtual recreation of the trucks travelling along the route to determine its potential impact on the trees.

Further biodiversity studies also identified the project posed a "very high risk" to the endangered gang-gang cockatoo, along with the vulnerable dusky woodswallow and wedge-tailed eagle due to a loss of habitat and bird strikes from turbines.

The proponents Bird and Bat Adaptive Management Plan, concluded more than 164 bats and eight birds were expected to die each year over the project's 30-year life-span through turbine strikes.

Route changes

As part of a number of changes made to the original proposal, the turbines will now undertake a major detour to reach Oberon.

Departing from the Port of Newcastle, the turbines were previously expected to be brought through Mudgee and Bathurst.

They will now be taken 645 kilometres through Dunedoo, Wellington, Orange and Bathurst on the way to Oberon, to avoid concerns raised by the Lithgow City and Mid-Western Regional councils.

The Mid-Western Regional Council had made a submission to the NSW Planning Department objecting to the development citing concerns over the level of traffic through the district being "unsustainable" and providing no direct benefit to ratepayers.

As part of the updated route, GPG will fund the construction of a new 510-metre road connecting Percy Street to the Mitchell Highway in Wellington.

The changes were introduced following consultation with Transport for NSW, local councils and the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure.

The National Environmental Protection Agency is seeking submissions on the project before a referral determination is made.

After the NSW Department of Planning received more than 280 submissions from locals objecting to the proposal, a final determination will be made by the Independent Planning Commission.