Ravenshoe's Kidner Contracting defends 'wind turbine graveyard' claims

Kidner Contracting Ravenshoe is a long-standing family-owned business and one of the largest local employers in Ravenshoe since 1944.

The business stores decommissioned wind turbines from the nearby Windy Hill wind farm on their 280 acre freehold quarry, which take up around 500m2.

Last week, Menzies Research Centre executive director and The Australian newspaper columnist, Nick Cater, travelled to Ravenshoe, south west of Cairns, to film what he described as a 'wind turbine graveyard in North Queensland.'

Footage of his trip revealed dozens of unrecyclable wind turbines in bushland near Ravenshoe, which was then broadcasted on Youtube, Sydney's Ben Fordam's 2GB radio show and on Skynews.

In response to Mr Cater's 'Wind Turbine Graveyard story', Kidner Contracting managing director Blake Kidner released a statement, condemning the misinformation of them being dumped in bushland.

"Nick Cater did not get any permission to enter our property. He has illegally obtained the footage, trespassed on our land. The neat stockpile is not hidden in the forest," Mr Kidner's statement read.

"Nicks political agenda does not show that there is a large shed and office within 100m of these, the camera man is standing on a quarry haul road,

"These blades are not the first ones to be removed in Australia, just some of the only ones that are still available to be reused/repurposed."

Mr Kidner said the wind turbines were destined for landfill, but he could see future value in the blades in a circular economy.

"I want to repurpose (the wind turbine blades) as a fence line," he said.

"These blades were destined for landfill, but we took possession of them and were stockpiled onsite as we have been working on ideas for reuse of them.

"Eight of these blades have been rehomed, two of them for trials for recycling options to CSIRO just last year, and the others for training purposes to repair them in-situ in NSW and VIC, so they don't have to be removed for repair or be replaced if damaged, as other blades removed just get buried."