Offshore renewable energy infrastructure area proposal: Pacific Ocean off Hunter

Submission re proposed Hunter Offshore wind project:

Firstly I wish to make it clear that I am (and have been for years) a supporter of the need for human society to reduce our reliance on fossil fuel sources for our energy needs as soon as possible in order to minimise impending catastrophic consequences for the planet. That said, not all renewable energy proposals are appropriate or desirable depending on the circumstances. I attended the information session at Nelson Bay on 9th March 2023. As a result, I have significant concerns that the proposed project will have negative impacts on the Port Stephens area in which I live. These include:

Threat to marine life. There is an annual migration of humpback whales which lasts from May to October each year. The distance from shore at which these cetaceans travel varies, but particularly on their return to the southern ocean there would be an extreme risk of “interaction” with offshore wind turbines. Humpback whales do not have sonar which may place them at greater risk. According to the map overlay provided by the DCCEEW site, the amount of shipping movement in and out of the port of Newcastle is phenomenal. I wonder whether a vast array of wind turbines would cause shipping movements to be disrupted, possibly intruding on the “whale highway”.

Apart from the danger to the animals there is also the potential of significant harm to the tourist industry on which Port Stephens is extremely reliant, especially during the winter months. That danger could well be caused by patrons reluctant to view the spectacle tainted by the vista of hundreds of wind turbines instead of an open sea. As a former employee on a whale watch vessel, I think that is most likely.

Cabbage Tree Island immediately outside Port Stephens is also the only nesting site of the critically endangered Gould’s Petrel. The NPWS has done a massive job over the last decade (or more) in ridding the island of threats to the birds, the numbers of which had dropped into the dozens. Their numbers have now improved well in comparison but having a new challenge of navigating wind turbines may undo all the good work that has been done. Also on the topic of seabirds, Broughton Island a short distance further north is a breeding ground for short tailed shearwaters, who travel thousands of kilometres on their migrations each year. Worldwide, long distance migratory birds are facing a plethora of challenges resulting in reduction of numbers in a variety of species. A study of shearwaters on Lord Howe Island a couple of years ago showed that almost a new generation was lost due to the tragic tendency of parent birds to feed small plastic particles to their young. The last thing these birds need is to have a new challenge in the form of navigating huge wind turbines.

The ocean off Port Stephens is also host to a huge diversity of other marine life including various species of dolphins, whales other than humpbacks (eg Southern Right and minke), seals, sharks… the effects on these animals has yet to be assessed.

Visual pollution. Port Stephens’ greatest tourist drawcard is its “unspoiled nature” asset. Millions of dollars have just been spent on a 20km walking track south from Mount Tomaree, which it is hoped will lure many more tourist dollars on which our economy is heavily dependent. Seeing a vast array of wind turbines unfortunately will not favour that cause, and this applies 24 hours a day as the turbines will need to be lit up in order to avoid collision by shipping.

Other issues: This proposal has come “out of nowhere” with an extremely tight timetable, particularly for the general public to become aware of, grapple with, and formulate an opinion on. It seems that the cart has been placed well before the horse, as it appears that no research has been done on the environmental issues (as mentioned above) that I am aware of. I note that according to the website “Reneweconomy” there are in fact THREE proposals for offshore windfarms off the Hunter and Central Coast. There are the names of commercial enterprises associated with all three of those, suggesting to me that the “information session” I attended, and your website, are not divulging all that we, the taxpayer/resident/citizen are entitled to know.

Other questions that come to mind are: given that this/these project/s will cost “an absolute fortune”, will those costs be borne by the consumer, making energy from this/these renewable project/s more costly than fossil fuel options? Will there be controls put in place by the Federal Government to stop rampant price gouging as there allegedly is in the current energy system?

Future technology: the current style of offshore wind turbine could well be outmoded by the time the project is slated. For example, there are many developments in the area of wave energy generation. How will the Government ensure that we are not saddled with outmoded technology before it’s even built, given that it appears commercial arrangements are already being entered into?