Agricultural
14 August, 2024
Calls for urgent Wind Farm Code reform
AgForce has said it is increasingly concerned that delays to urgently needed reforms to the Wind Farm Code could put agricultural landholders at potentially crippling financial risk.
Queensland’s peak representative body for farmers is disappointed that despite a review of the Wind Farm Code last year, the Queensland Government has not released any reforms to the Code since.
AgForce is now urging any primary producers considering hosting wind turbines on their property to take extra precautions.
CEO Michael Guerin says it’s vital that landholders not jeopardise the future of their farms by being too hasty to develop before proper policy protections are in place.
“AgForce recommends that any landholder considering hosting wind turbines insist on a bank guarantee from the wind farm company to cover the cost of decommissioning the wind farm,” Mr Guerin said.
“This covers you in case the wind farm company fails to perform the decommissioning themselves.
“It’s also the advice from the Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner.”
Mr Guerin said that proper security in the form of a bank guarantee must be sought by landholders before any development takes place, to ensure they are not potentially burdened with the huge costs associated with decommissioning the wind farm.
“Through necessity this system of security was developed in the resource industry to ensure that huge rehabilitation costs were not worn by the taxpayer,” he said.
“We are increasingly concerned that the Queensland Government has not addressed this in the same way that it brought in legislation for the resource industry to ensure bank guarantees cover decommissioning as part of the approvals process.”
AgForce is aware that the Queensland Government is currently reviewing the Wind Farm Code, and was expecting a revised Code would be released in early 2024, however there is still no revised Code.
“AgForce made a detailed submission to the Queensland Government regarding the review and would welcome the opportunity to have further input,” Mr Guerin said.
“It is very concerning to us that the Queensland Government has not resolved this issue, whilst at the same time landholders are being encouraged by wind farm companies to sign agreements without proper security in the form of a bank guarantee.
“We do not consider promises to pay into funds at some future date as constituting proper security.”
