THE safety of regional communities is being placed at risk as it is revealed the state government’s energy regulator has no records of internal fire suppression equipment being installed in any of Victoria’s nearly 1500 wind turbines.
The majority of Victoria’s wind farm turbines are located in some of the state’s most fire prone areas, with some future projects set to be located in timber plantations.
There are currently another 900 turbines in the pipeline across regional Victoria, including projects like the Fera wind farm that will place over 100 towers in areas like Avenel, Ruffy, and the southern Strathbogie Ranges region.
Member for Euroa, Annabelle Cleeland, said the Fera wind proposal had left several residents concerned, as well as local CFA volunteers.
“This wind farm has been proposed in an isolated, hard to reach, and environmentally sensitive region, where there are several endangered species and abundant plant life,” Ms Cleeland said.
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“Despite this, under-resourced local CFA volunteers have been shortchanged and left with outdated vehicles and appliances, making it even more difficult for them to access, defend, and isolate any bushfires that were to occur near the proposed wind farm.”
CFA volunteers have raised significant concerns about the region’s firefighting capacity during community sessions on Fera’s proposed wind farm and high-voltage transmission line project.
These concerns arose after a wind turbine fire near Portland in June had to burn out due to a lack of equipment to fight fires at such heights.
A high-intensity fire 200 metres up can spread burning oil and fiberglass over kilometres in certain conditions.
Though only three turbine fires have occurred in Victoria to date, the risk increases as aging turbines degrade, as well as wind towers in isolated areas.
Ms Cleeland said it was alarming to see a lack of safety precautions in place to protect regional communities from potential fires.
“During the rapid expansion of wind towers across the region it seems the state government has forgotten about the importance of fire safety,” Ms Cleeland said.
“We must see this government take responsibility for the wind turbines across the state and ensure clear processes and precautionary measures are in place to keep our communities safe.
“With our CFA brigades already under immense pressure due to a lack of resources, it is simply irresponsible to not ensure there are clear procedures in place to mitigate any potential fire damage from these towers."
