St Patricks Plains Wind Farm Update - December 2022
New project owner
In May 2022 Ark Energy completed its friendly acquisition of Epuron, the proponent for the St Patricks Plains Wind Farm, and in October 2022 the Epuron brand was retired. Ark Energy is a subsidiary of Korea Zinc, the first major refiner to join RE100 and commit to powering its global operations from 100% clean energy by 2050. There are no changes to the plans for the project as a result of the change in ownership.
Community benefits
St Patricks Plains Wind Farm has a Neighbour Benefit Program for owners of dwellings within 3 km of a wind turbine. The program involves an annual payment per wind turbine within 2 km and 3 km. If you are eligible to participate and would like more information please contact the project team.
The project also involves a Community Benefit Fund of $3,000 per installed wind turbine per annum for the life of the project, which would be $141,000 (indexed) each year based on the proposed layout. Suggestions for the fund are welcome and can be sent to the project team directly or via the Feedback page.
One potential benefit identified by community members is the improvement of mobile and internet coverage around areas of the site where this is currently limited, including parts of Wilburville, Flintstone and Arthurs Lake Road. The project team is making enquiries about this with Telstra and government representatives.
Thank you to everyone who has contacted the project team to date about working on the wind farm, or providing services and accommodation. Your interest has been registered in our database. We will keep you up to date on the wind farm’s progress and your details will be passed on to the construction contractor post-approval.
Project update and new information centre
The project team is finalising the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and aiming to lodge the final EIS with the Environment Protection Authority Tasmania in early 2023. The EIS would then be placed on public exhibition by Central Highlands Council.
The St Patricks Plains Wind Farm is opening a local information centre at 16a Patrick St, on the corner of Patrick and William Streets, in Bothwell (former location of the information centre for Cattle Hill Wind Farm). The centre will be attended by local resident Jim Poore on Fridays from mid-January 2023.