Getting the community on board
Supporting the community throughout the development, construction and subsequently the operation of the wind farm can be a difficult task. This is often related to the degree of alignment between the local community and its local council. Despite councils receiving contributions from wind farm developers, some communities have voiced concerns. They fear this misalignment will result in them not seeing a tangible benefit to the development.
Recognising this Infigen has proposed setting up a community wind farm cooperatives as part of its Flyers Creek wind farm proposal. This is the first commercial wind farm development proposal in Australia to offer this cooperative initiative.
Year 2012 is the official UN year of cooperatives.Based on Infigen’s initiative, 15 local residents from the Orange, Blayney and Bathurst areas of New South Wales have initiated the formation of the Central NSW Renewable Energy Cooperative (CNREC). The volunteers with the assistance of Infigen and legal representatives are preparing the Rules and Disclosure Statements that will hopefully lead way to the establishment of the cooperative. In the first few weeks, approximately 70 prospective members have registered their interest with the cooperative. Interest is growing with the ultimate goal being that the cooperative will buy and own a turbine at Flyers Creek wind farm.
This initiative has been a learning experience for all stakeholders and it has given Infigen the opportunity to work more closely with the community in the Flyers Creek area. This has enabled us to truly understand how we can meet their expectations and demonstrate that we will deliver on our commitments.
“A lot of work is still to be done and patience is required to form the cooperative in 2012. We are very excited to see the wind cooperative initiative getting a life of its own as the proposed CNREC. This initiative has brought together people willing to dedicate their time to doing something good for their community,” says Marju Tonisson, Communications Coordinator at Infigen.
The cooperative initiative will hopefully take off in all the communities with proposed wind farms.
For more information visitwww.windcoop.com.au.