Request For Amendments To Planning Approval – Yandin Windfarm
Location: Various locations within the locality of Dandaragan
Applicant: Wind Prospect WA Pty Ltd on behalf of Yandin Wind Farms Pty Ltd.
File Ref: Development Services App / Development
Application / 2011 / 14 &15
Disclosure of Interest: None
Date: 13 December 2017
PROPOSAL
This application is to amend the Yandin Wind Farm planning permit submitted by Wind Prospect Pty Ltd (WPPL) on behalf of the proponent, Yandin Wind Farm Pty Ltd.
BACKGROUND
The proposed Yandin Wind Farm is located approximately 3.3km south of the township of Dandaragan within the Shire of Dandaragan, Western Australia and 170km north of Perth. The site covers an area of approximately 15,000 hectares.
A planning permit for the Yandin Wind Farm was issued by the Shire of Dandaragan in January 2012. In April 2015 the Shire approved an application to extend the Yandin Wind Farm planning permit until January 2020. In September 2017 the Shire approved the relocation of the transmission line route to the west of Brand Highway, in accordance with the wind farm planning permit advice note.
This application comprises a request to approve the following amendments to the current planning permit for the Yandin Wind Farm:
- Amendment to the dimensions of wind turbines including an increase to the maximum tip height of the wind turbines (the height from ground level to the highest point of the blade tip of each wind turbine) from 152 metres to 180 metres and
increasing the maximum hub height of the wind turbines (the height from ground level to the central point of blade rotation) from 100 metres to up to 112 metres.
- Minor amendments to the wording of existing planning permit conditions.
- Increase the number of permanent wind monitoring masts from three to six and their height from 100 metres to up to 112 metres.
This application for the proposed amendments to the planning permit is to be assessed in line with the provisions of:
- Shire of Dandaragan Local Planning Scheme No. 7 (LPS7);
- Shire of Dandaragan Local Planning Strategy – Rural Land Use and Rural Settlement;
- Planning Bulletin 67 – Guidelines for Wind Farm Development;
- Environment Protection Bulletin no.21 – Guidance for wind farm developments; and
The original planning permit application lodged in 2011 was referred to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for assessment with a decision of “Not Assessed – Public Advice Given”.
COMMENT
The applicant has submitted the following comments and details in support of the amendments;
Amendment to the dimensions of wind turbines
Wind turbine technology has been continually advancing since the original planning permit was issued for the Yandin Wind Farm in 2012. The latest generation of wind turbines available are increasingly exceeding the dimensions provided for in the original planning permit approval being a tip height of 152 metres (the height from ground level to the highest point of the blade tip of each wind turbine) and a hub height of 100 metres (the height from ground level to the central point of blade rotation). Raising the maximum allowable tip height of the wind turbines from 152
metres to 180 metres and the maximum allowable hub height of the wind turbines from 100 metres to up to 112 metres at the Yandin Wind Farm will allow for more modern wind turbine models to be installed which are generally more efficient, quieter and costeffective.
In addition, the additional clean electricity generated by the larger wind turbines would allow the generation from the site to be maximised.
The original planning permit application and the original planning permit conditions did not specify a maximum wind turbine capacity and confirmation is sought that no such maximum wind turbine capacity therefore applies to the permit.
Updates to the wording of the existing planning conditions
Proposed amendments to the wording of existing planning permit conditions with an explanation for the proposed amendment are detailed in the Table below. The existing planning permit conditions are provided in full in the attachments.
Table
Proposed amendments to the wording of existing planning permit conditions with justification for the proposed amendment.
Approval condition no. 8
Proposed amendment Explanation
The proponent shall notify property owners with land within 5km of approved wind turbine locations of
the potential for interference to TV reception from the wind farm and offer residents with a dwelling
located within 5km of a wind turbine a pre-construction and post-construction assessment of television reception. The proponent shall remedy any reception problems attributable to the presence of the wind farm at dwellings located within 5km of approved wind turbine locations as at January 2012.
The term ‘nearby’ in the current Condition 8 is imprecise and open to interpretation.
12 Reference to WA EPA noise guidance 2007; replace ‘dated’ with ‘as at’?
Reference to the SA EPA Noise Guidelines ‘July 2009’.
To align with the updated Guidelines that have been applied in the updated attached noise report.
13 Add “or background +5dB whichever is the higher” after the words “exceed 45dB(A)”.
Depending on the level of background noise, the limit could otherwise be less for noise sensitive premises located within the wind farm boundary compared with those located outside the wind farm boundary.
14 Replace reference to ’10 minutes LAeq’ with ‘LA90’.
This reflects the relevant reference from the 2009 SA EPA Noise Guidelines, consistent with the
proposed amendment to Condition12.
18 Remove this condition in its entirety
This is a requirement by law and is therefore not required as a planning permit condition.
20 Replace ‘Department of Environment Conservation’ with ‘Department of Biodiversity,
Conservation and Attractions’ Department of Environment
Conservation (DEC) no longer exists. Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions
(DBCA) has taken over the relevant functions of DEC.
24 Replace the current condition with “The proponent shall provide an appropriate viewing area and/or information display at appropriate location(s) agreed with Council.”
The amendment provides greater flexibility for the Shire to determine what is most appropriate at the
time of construction.
25 Add “except where higher security fencing is required for safety and security purposes” after the words “post and wire”.
Rural construction fencing is not appropriate for all applications and could lead to unacceptable OHS and security risks at locations such as the on-site substation, operations and maintenance
compound and temporary construction compounds.
Increase the number of permanent wind monitoring masts from three to six
The original planning permit allowed for the construction of three permanent wind monitoring masts. An amendment to the number of permanent monitoring masts is sought that increases the number from three to six. An amendment is also sought for an increase to the height of the masts from 100 metres to up to 112 metres to align the masts with the proposed increase to the wind turbine hub height. The field of wind monitoring, wind forecasting and the terms and conditions of wind turbine warranties are evolving and these amendments will ensure that the wind resource
monitored at the project site post construction can adequately meet its required functions.
Proposed deletion of Condition 18 has been raised as an issue in discussions with neighbours. The current condition states;
- In relation to the concerns raised in the letter from the Western Australian Department of Environment and Conservation dated 02 June 2011, the proponent shall, prior to commencement of construction, implement necessary strategies to mitigate any future noise non-compliance that may arise from the construction or operation of the Wind Farm.
This matter was discussed extensively in the Council Minutes 15 December 2011. The following is part of that discussion. A copy of the full minuted comments are provided in the attachments.
With respect to the possibility of one of the neighbouring landowners seeking to construct an additional dwelling in the area potentially exposed to non-compliant noise levels, while there are approximately 3532ha around the Yandin wind farm, it is
questionable whether landowners would choose to locate an additional dwelling within these portions of their property. If they did, the additional dwelling would be a permitted use under Local Planning Scheme No.7 (i.e. a use not requiring planning approval).
There are some smaller lots north of the Yandin Wind Farm that are entirely within the modelled 35dB(A) contour line, a couple having frontage to a public road. All of these lots form part of larger landholdings. There is a possibility that the small lots with existing road frontage could be sold and application made to construct a dwelling. There is also a possibility that application could be made to rationalize boundaries of existing landlocked lots to create lots within the 35dB(A) contour line with road frontage, thereby creating the same potential situation.
The Shire of Dandaragan draft Local Planning Strategy – Rural Land Use and Rural Settlement indicates planning approval should be required for any additional dwellings on lots in the Rural zone.
The local planning scheme could be amended to give Council discretion to approve applications for planning approval within the modelled 35dB(A) noise contour and to factor consideration of noise buffer requirements for the wind farms into the assessment of those proposals, as recommended by the Office of the EPA. This would, however, transfer responsibility for resolving the problem of land use conflict to the local government via its local planning scheme. It would be preferred if the matter could be appropriately addressed by Wind Prospect as part of gaining approval.
To this end, recommended Condition 18 requires the proponent to implement necessary strategies to mitigate any future noise non-compliance that may arise from the construction or operation of the Wind Farm prior to
commencement of construction.
Wind Prospect is in the process of preparing legal agreements to send to affected surrounding landowners hoping to get their agreement to not do anything to cause new dwellings to be located in the potentially noise affected area. If landowners refuse to sign the agreement, then there is a possibility of a dwelling being placed on lots owned by them in the affected area. In the absence of a planning or legal mechanism to prevent this from occurring, there is a risk for Wind Prospect and/or the future developer in leaving this possibility open because if noise levels as a result of the adjoining wind farm are found to not comply with noise regulations, the wind farm operator could be required to take such remedial actions as required to ensure compliance.
Recommended Condition 18 requires the potential for this situation to arise to be addressed prior to construction and Wind Prospects is already working towards achieving that.
Noise Assessment
ViPAC prepared a Noise Impact Assessment for the Yandin Wind Farm in December 2010 to support the Environmental Statement that comprised the original planning permit application. ViPAC has reviewed this assessment and produced a revised assessment of the potential impacts of the proposed amendments to the planning
permit for the Yandin Wind Farm, modelling a worst case wind turbine model compared to other potential candidate wind turbine models. Their report is provided in Attachment 10 (in the report sent by DropBox link). A summary of their findings is provided below.
Given the proposed amendment of increasing the maximum hub height, the predicted noise levels are assessed against the SA EPA “Environmental Noise Guidelines: Wind Farms 2009”
(using hub height wind speeds); this would also provide for compliance with the 2003 guidelines used in the original assessment;
The predicted noise levels for the wind turbine layout satisfies
the criteria and requirements of the SA EPA “Environmental Noise Guidelines: Wind Farms, 2009” at all relevant (not involved in the wind farm) receivers. The noise levels also comply with the criteria for the receivers that are involved with the wind farm;
Due to the absence of noise characteristics (such as tonality, impulsiveness, modulation or low frequency components), no penalty adjustments are required to be applied to the levels;
A noise assessment of the proposed substations and transmission lines has shown that there are likely to be no noise impacts;
Even though noise levels may meet the criteria, people residing near wind farms may experience or be aware of the noise generated by the wind farm. This new type of noise source may have a character with which people may be initially unfamiliar and, even though wind farm noise is typically steady and broadband in nature, people may notice features at times, usually barely or faintly.
Conditions 12 to 18 of the current planning permit relate to noise and require that the final wind farm design meets applicable noise standards and that a post-construction monitoring program be implemented to verify compliance. Variations to some of these conditions have been proposed.
Avifauna and Fauna Assessment RPS Australia completed the following assessment reports for the Yandin Wind Farm to support the Environmental Statement that
comprised the original planning permit application.
Fauna Assessment in October 2010;
Avifauna Assessment in November 2010;
Flora and Vegetation – Environmental Impacts and Management in March 2010 (prepared by Outback Ecology for RPS Australia); and
Targeted Level 1 Vegetation and Flora Assessment in March 2010 (prepared by Outback Ecology for RPS Australia).
RPS Australia has reviewed the assessment reports prepared in 2010 with regard to the original proposed infrastructure layout and considered any potential impacts associated with the proposed increase in wind turbine tip height from 152 metres to 180 metres.
Their findings are reported in a statement, a copy of which is provided in Attachment 12. A summary of their findings is provided below.
- The proposed increase in tip height from 152m to 180m increases the potential rotor swept area of the wind turbines, which previously ranged between 40 metres to 152 metres above the ground level, to range from 12 metres to 180 metres above the ground level;
- The open country (cleared) locations selected for wind turbine sitings are of relatively low habitat value for birds, with greatest species diversity associated with areas of structurally diverse native vegetation;
RPS (2010a) identified that the conservation significant fauna species that may be potentially impacted by Yandin Wind Farm were Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo and the Peregrine Falcon;
Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo were recorded flying through the lower lying areas and valleys and not at the higher topographies on which the wind turbines are located by RPS (2010a), indicating that the wind turbines are located outside of existing flight paths of this species. The presence of Peregrine Falcons at the Yandin Wind Farm is only known from one recording of the species (RPS 2010a), indicating that the wind farm site does not represent significant habitat for this species;
Informed by the findings of RPS (2010a) and RPS (2010b), the risk to these conservation significant bird species from the proposed 28 metre increase to the size of the minimum and maximum wind turbine tip height is not expected to significantly
increase;
The approved wind turbine locations within the Yandin Wind Farm have been placed to avoid areas that may be used extensively by flying bats and insects in order to minimise the hazards and potential impacts to local bat species;
RPS (2010b) considered that the potential adverse effects on terrestrial fauna from the wind turbines would be limited to collisions of bats with wind turbine blades and assessed the level of risk to terrestrial fauna to be low. This is because the species likely to be present on site and that may fly at rotor swept area of the wind turbines are common and widespread.
Condition 19 of the current planning permit requires that a clearing permit is obtained in accordance with the provisions of the Environmental Protection (Clearing of Native Vegetation) Regulations 2004. A clearing permit was obtained from the Department of Conservation in February 2012 in relation to the original proposed infrastructure layout.
This clearing permit has expired and a new application will be made to the Department of Environment Regulation. Condition 20 requires the development
and implementation of an Avian Fauna Collision Risk Monitoring Program.
Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment GHD prepared a Report for Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment for the Yandin Wind Farm in September 2010 to
support the Environmental Statement that comprised the original planning application. GHD has reviewed this assessment and assessed the potential impacts of the proposed amendments to the planning permit for the Yandin Wind Farm and reported their findings in an addendum report, a copy of which is provided in Attachment 9. A summary of their findings is provided below.
Photomontage images and Zone of Visual Influence (ZVI) diagrams to inform the GHD assessment are included in the GHD report in Attachment 9 (in the report sent by DropBox link).
There would be a marginal to imperceptible increase in impacts associated with the increase of tip height of the turbines from 152 metres to 180 metres even when taking the marginal increase in hub height from 100 metres to up to 112 metres into
account. Much of the change to the updated view-sheds relates to the middle ground and middle-distance views where the increased height may result in more turbines being visible;
The nature of the study area landscape is such that it has an inherently large capacity to absorb a land use with pronounced structures, such as a wind farm. The wind turbines can be regarded as an ‘additional’ man-made element within a broad
landscape that contains many other man-made structures, including power lines, transmission towers, farm buildings, roads, fence-lines, etc;
Within the Dandaragan township the visibility of wind turbines will be moderated and obstructed by street and residential landscaping, buildings and other township structures. The most northerly wind turbines are likely to be more visible from the
southernmost point of the Dandaragan township when travelling south, with the closest turbine being 3.3 km away. Substantial roadside vegetation on the west side of this road will obstruct views of the western side of the wind farm. The proposed
increased height will have an imperceptible impact on the overall visibility from this location;
While the western edge of the proposed Yandin Wind Farm site will be visible from sections of the Brand Highway for both north bound and south bound traffic, this visibility is in fact very limited in extent and duration. There would be a marginal to
imperceptible increase in visibility due to the increase of the height of the turbines;
As previously assessed, the Yandin Road Lookout is orientated toward the more distant westerly views, although it was acknowledged that the western end of the wind farm will encroach on this view, to some extent, on the north and south margins of this panorama. The proposed height increase will have a limited overall impact on visibility at this location;
Concurrent with the previous assessment, the addendum report concludes that there would be marginal visual impacts on the regional or local landscape quality;
The proposed increase to the wind turbine tip height and hub height will also be marginal with an imperceptible difference between the current approved and proposed amended wind farm envelope.
Shadow Flicker Assessment
Wind Prospect Pty Ltd prepared a shadow flicker analysis to inform the Environmental Statement that comprised the original planning application in 2011. This shadow flicker analysis was recently repeated by Wind Prospect to assess any potential increased impact of shadow flicker at sensitive receptors, such as dwellings, resulting from the proposed increase to wind turbine tip height from 152 metres to 180 metres. Wind Prospect’s findings are reported in Attachment 13, which includes an image showing predicted shadow flicker with a wind turbine tip height of 180 metres. The results are summarised below.
In the absence of specific guidelines relating to shadow flicker in WA, the most restrictive limits from relevant German and Australian guidelines were used as a benchmark. These guidelines set a limit of 30 hours of shadow flicker per year within 50 metres of a residence and 30 minutes of shadow flicker in any one day at a given shadow flicker receptor;
Calculations have been made based on worst case conditions which exclude the effects of clouds, obstacles, and the variability of wind speed and direction, all of which would reduce the amount of shadow flicker experienced in reality relative to the levels predicted in the Shadow Flicker Assessment;
Two proposed dwellings and one existing dwelling are predicted to experience more than 30 hours of shadow flicker within 50 metres of the dwelling. All three dwellings are owned by landowners involved in the project;
Of the nine residences which might expect to receive some shadow flicker, eight belong to landowners involved in the project, with the other dwelling being unoccupied;
The Shadow Flicker Assessment will be repeated prior to construction once a wind turbine model has been determined for construction. Mitigation strategies will be implemented if necessary to reduce shadow flicker at residences, with the agreement of the relevant landowner.
Electromagnetic Interference Assessment Electromagnetic interference (EMI) can affect radio and TV communication services. Laurie Derrick & Associates completed
the following assessments in June 2009 and September 2010 respectively to support the Environmental Statement that comprised the original planning permit application:
Investigation of Possible Impacts on Radio communication Services; and
Investigation of Possible Impacts on TV Broadcasting Services.
Laurie Derrick & Associates has reviewed these previous assessments and assessed the potential impacts of the proposed amendments to the planning permit for the Yandin Wind Farm and reported their findings in a statement, a copy of which is provided in Attachment 14. A summary of their findings is provided below.
New radio link and site mapping was generated from data from the latest ACMA Licencing Database (RRL) to ensure that any new radio or decommissioned links or sites were taken into account for determining if adequate clearance from turbines
exists.
The analysis demonstrated that all current links have sufficient clearance to the turbine blade tips. It also showed that radio sites have sufficient buffer distances to wind turbines.
No impact on FM or AM radio reception has been reported in Australia or overseas due to wind turbines and is not expected at this wind farm.
The proposed larger diameter wind turbines could cause slightly greater interference potential with dwellings close to the turbines however the VAST service is available as an alternative source of TV from this satellite service which is not likely to be impacted by turbines due to the high angle of elevation to the satellite.
The proposed wind farm amendments are predicted to have negligible impact on broadcasting and radio communications services.
Condition 8 of the current planning permit relates to EMI and requires that nearby residents are offered pre- and postconstruction assessment of television reception and the remedy of any problems attributable to the wind farm.
CONSULTATION
The Shire undertook advertising by way of letters to all affected and surrounding landowners, government agencies and aviation authorities as well as advertisements in the Redgum Reports and Sandpaper newspapers and on the Shire website. There were no submissions received during the advertising period. However notice was given of a late response from one landowner that had not been received at the time this report was prepared.
The applicant undertook the following consultation;
Key stakeholders were sent notification of the proposed amendments to the wind farm planning permit inviting comments and further engagement. The consultation process commenced in April 2017 and is ongoing.
This notification and consultation has consisted of:
Letters addressed to specific stakeholders advising of the proposed amendments distributed by email and/or mail;
Newsletter, including invitation to the Information Days, distributed by email and to mailboxes at the Dandaragan post office;
Face-to-face meetings and discussions with interested neighbouring residents;
Advertising of the Information Days in two local publications (Mid West Times and Craytales) leading up to the Information Days with the Newsletter issued to the Shire of Dandaragan for distribution;
The Information Days held at the Dandaragan Community Recreation Centre on 31st August and 1st September; and,
Launching of the updated www.yandinwindfarm.com.au website in August 2017, which contains information about the Yandin Wind Farm and the proposed amendments to the planning permit.
Copies of the newsletter and advertisement as well as responses from stakeholders are summarised in the attachments
As the Yandin Wind Farm project progresses, engagement with stakeholders will be ongoing using newsletters, letters, emails, meetings and updates to the website.
STATUTORY ENVIRONMENT
Shire of Dandaragan Local Planning Scheme No. 7 (LPS7);
Shire of Dandaragan Local Planning Strategy – Rural Land Use and Rural Settlement;
Planning Bulletin 67 – Guidelines for Wind Farm Development;
Environment Protection Bulletin no.21 – Guidance for wind farm developments; and The original planning permit application lodged in 2011 was referred to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for assessment with a decision of “Not Assessed – Public Advice Given”
POLICY IMPLICATIONS
There are no policy implications relevant to this item.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
A planning application fee to the value of $1,000 shall be paid by the applicant, being an estimate of the costs of advertising and offer time preparing report.
STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS
2016 – 2026 Community Strategic Plan
Goal 1: Great Place for Residential and Business Development
Objectives How the Shire will contribute
1.2 Ensure effective and efficient development and building services
1.4 Ensure Shire is “open for business” and supports industry and business development
- a) Process development applications and undertake building regulation functions and services
- b) Identify and engage with future new business and industry opportunities
Renewable energy projects deemed compatible with surrounding land uses should be encouraged through identification in future strategic planning instruments for the Shire, including any new municipal strategic plan, the Local Planning Strategy and new Local Planning Schemes.
ATTACHMENTS
Circulated with the agenda is the following item relevant to this report:
Yandin Wind Farm Project report part 1 (Doc Id: 103551)
Yandin Wind Farm Project report Part 2 is available via dropbox ink (Doc Id: 103607)
Map showing properties consulted (Doc Id: 103554)
Copy of Extract from Council Minutes 15 December 2011 – Condition 18 (Doc Id: 103553
(Marked 9.4.4)
VOTING REQUIREMENT
Simple majority
OFFICER RECOMMENTATION
That Council grant the following amendments to the current planning approval for wind farm to Yandin Wind Farm Pty Ltd;
- Amendment to the dimensions of wind turbines including an increase to the maximum tip height of the wind turbines (the height from ground level to the highest point of the blade tip of each wind turbine) from 152 metres to 180 metres and increasing the maximum hub height of the wind turbines (the height from ground level to the central point of blade rotation) from 100 metres to up to 112 metres.
- Minor amendments to the wording of existing planning permit conditions as detailed in the table below;
Approval condition no.
Proposed amendment
8 The proponent shall notify property owners with land within 5km of approved wind turbine locations of the potential for interference to TV reception from the wind farm and offer residents with a dwelling located within 5km of a wind turbine a pre-construction and post-construction assessment of television reception. The proponent shall remedy any reception problems attributable to the presence of the wind farm at dwellings located within 5km of approved wind turbine locations as at January 2012.
12 Reference to WA EPA noise guidance 2007; replace ‘dated’ with ‘as at’?
Reference to the SA EPA Noise Guidelines ‘July 2009’.
13 Add “or background +5dB whichever is the higher” after the words “exceed 45dB(A)”.
14 Replace reference to ’10 minutes LAeq’ with ‘LA90’.
18 Remove this condition in its entirety
20 Replace ‘Department of Environment Conservation’ with ‘Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions’
24 Replace the current condition with “The proponent shall provide an appropriate viewing area and/or information display at appropriate location(s) agreed with Council.”
25 Add “except where higher security fencing is required for safety
and security purposes” after the words “post and wire”.
- Increase the number of permanent wind monitoring masts from three to six and their height from 100 metres to up to 112 metres.
info via Dandaragan shire website
