Ravenshoe wind farm proposal thrown out

The 42 wind turbine farm had an expected generation capacity of almost 300 megawatts and was proposed to be located on a cattle-grazing property.

The property, which already contains a substation and high voltage power lines, is near national parks that form part of the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage Area.

A social media group that fought against the project, Stop Chalumbin Wind Farm, expressed relief about the energy company's decision.

"We are awaiting further information on the specific details surrounding this withdrawal as there is a lot of speculation at the moment," a spokesperson posted online.

"After three years of an epic David vs Goliath battle - for the moment at least we have won.

"The development proposal can be re-submitted, so sadly this may not be the end of it, but for now a big relief and a sincere thanks to everyone who cared, stood up, spread the world and said a collective 'no'."

State Member for Hill Shane Knuth said the company had embarked on an intense campaign last year, including renaming the project from Chalumbin to Wooroora Station Windfarm and reducing the project from 200 turbines, to 86, and then to 42.

"I couldn't believe this project gained initial approval from the Queensland government despite being located right next door to World Heritage listed Rainforest," Mr Knuth said.

"I vividly remember the Tully Hydro Electric project being knocked back because of environmental concerns, however it appears that wind farms get a free pass, regardless of the damage to natural habitats."

I am thankful however that the Fed's used common sense to force the projects withdrawal."

Mr Knuth said he and Federal Member for Kennedy Bob Katter had stood with community members who held rallies, launched petitions and put forward a submission to a Senate inquiry into "green-washing," which accused the global company of making misleading statements about the project and downplaying its environmental impact.

"Ravenshoe is already surrounded by two wind farms including Kaban wind farm with 28 turbines at 220m high and Windy Hill wind farm with 20 turbines at 45m high," he said.

"This wind farm was originally ten times the size of Windy Hill at 200 turbines, before being downgraded...(but) still substantially larger than both Kaban and Windy Hill. Their turbines are 250m high with 90 metres blades, which required significant land-clearing to allow road access for these massive wind turbines.

"I ask anyone living in south east Queensland whether they would like their community surrounded by these monstrosities. I doubt anyone would accept it, but the mood seems to be - put them in regional communities so it's not our problem."

The proposal was referred to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) for review under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 in July 2021 and had been in the federal environmental assessment process for almost three years.

During that time, it received development consent by the Queensland Government, went through two major redesigns to reduce environmental impacts and DCCEEW had extended the due date for its determination five times.

The most recent extension issued on April 9 2024 had extended the decision date to June 25 2024.

Ark Energy project lead Damian Vermey said a decision had been made to withdraw the proposal based on the view it was unlikely to be approved based on environmental impacts.

"We appreciate this outcome is also very disappointing for all those supporters who were looking forward to the project, including the Traditional Owners, community members and local businesses," he said.

"We remain proud of the work done to reduce the proposal's environmental impacts and the industry-leading commitments it included to achieve conservation benefits and net positive outcomes for the area's ecology.

"We will of course take stock of this outcome in due course, but for now have decided to re-prioritise and focus on other projects."