Rye Park Rumble: 91% of Locals Hostile to Trustpower’s Planned Wind Farm Disaster

A week or so back we covered the antics of another foreign owned wind power outfit struggling to come to grips with the fact that Australian rural communities have had – as they say – ‘a gutful’ of the wind industry’s lies, treachery and deceit. And they’ve especially had enough of the bully-boy, stand-over tactics adopted by the thugs employed by the likes of Trustpower and Epuron:

Wind Industry Belting its ‘Message’ Home: Trustpower’s Thugs Assault 79-Year-Old Pensioner & Disabled Farmer

The vast majority of rural Australians – living with or faced the threat of these things – have worked out the scale and scope of the economic fraud behind it all.

They’re hip to the fact that the $45 billion in subsidies designed to be siphoned off to these characters over the remaining life of the LRET is being used to literally steal their homes from under them:

Potential Wind Farm Neighbour Finds Idyllic Property is Now ‘Unsaleable’ at Any Price

And they’re wise to the fact that the characters programmed to destroy every last inch of Australia’s most productive farming country, couldn’t give a flying fig about any living soul within these communities; or the laws that are purported to ‘protect’ them:

Pacific Hydro & Acciona’s Acoustic ‘Consultant’ Fakes ‘Compliance’ Reports for Non-Compliant Wind Farms

Armed with that knowledge, groups are getting organised and turning mere grumbles into a simmering rage.

STT hears that the Yass and Rye Park communities have galvanised in their furious reaction to the manner in which Trustpower’s thugs set upon highly respected local elder, Jim Field.

Yass Memorial Hall: where the locals are getting ready for Round 2.

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STT also hears that that combined community anger is all set to erupt at a meeting to be held in the Yass Memorial Hall on Friday, October 9 at 7pm.

Here’s some more on what’s got the locals up in arms; and driving them to the barricades.

Opponents to Rye Park Wind Farm defend themselves
Yass Tribune
Jessica Cole
30 September 2015

Opponents of the Rye Park Wind Farm proposal are defending their actions while Trustpower attacks their behaviour in newspaper advertisements throughout the region.

The proposal is for 109 wind turbines at a height of 157 metres each with an approximate installed capacity of 327MW.

The company claims that at a community information day held at the Rye Park Memorial Hall last Tuesday, ‘a group of small, unruly protesters threatened people conducting the information day with violence and theft’.

Trustpower said a sign-in list, where people entered their contact details for more information, was stolen from the meeting. Now, through advertisements in local publications, they’ve warned residents on the list of the possibility of intimidatory behaviour from members of this group.

Residents have contacted the Tribune in an attempt to defend their actions.

Jayne Apps said she was upset at the accusation of abusive behaviour. She said she had arrived at the information day at approximately 5.30pm, at the time of the incident, and was greeted by security guards.

“They put me on edge straight away, it was in itself intimidating. I understand they had previous threats which is why they had the guards, but this had nothing to do with the residents of Rye Park,” she said.

“There were individuals that were upset about not getting the information they were asking for and there were raised voices in the hall. I didn’t see what happened outside.”

Ms Apps described the atmosphere as unsettling and she did not witness any physicality.

“Out of the 130 submissions in May last year, only eight were positive. They have tried to buy the silence of the community since then by offering neighbouring benefits. This was in no way a planned protest,” she continued.

“I think that if they are trying to prove to the community that they are going to be here for the long haul, instead of causing further antagonism, they should look at apologising to the community.”

Resident Mark Glover is angry with Trustpower and denied the imputations of violence and intimidation.

“I don’t think we were violent and intimidating, if anything Trustpower and Epuron were the ones who were violent and intimidating,” Mr Glover said.

“I mean I’ve recently had a knee operation, and fellow resident Jim Field is 79-years-old for God’s sake!”

He also hit back at claims by Trustpower that the community supported the proposal.

“It’s clearly a wrong assumption that this community supports the wind farm,” Mr Glover said.

“Since when has a community ever supported a wind farm development?”.

Mr Field who was reported to have taken one of the development officers Mr Rontheo Van Zyl by the throat, denied all violence claims.

“I actually shirt-fronted him and had my hand around the back of his head, but I didn’t have him by the throat,” Mr Field said.

“If anything the security guards from Trustpower were the ones who were violent towards me. I had three blokes on me at one stage – one who pushed me from the front and two at the side. I’m nearly 80 years old! I was telling them ‘There’ll be trouble if you don’t let me go!’”

Local resident John McGrath said he and his family have been fighting wind farm developers for decades and described them as “multinational faceless companies that use financial means to gag people impacted by these industrial installations”.

“Does it make it right to destroy an existing community’s cohesion simply because the offending company has money, then force local people into submission?

“All these companies look at is dollar at the bottom-line.”

There will be a community meeting at the Yass Memorial Hall on Friday, October 9 at 7pm.

The Tribune are inviting members of the surrounding community to contact them for further comments.
Yass Tribune

Welcome to our community ‘consultation’. Now, sit down & shut
the f#*k up, while we tell you just how it’s going be.

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One of the victims of Trustpower’s thuggery at Rye Park, 79-year-old Yass legend Jim Field had this to add.

More opposition to the Rye Park Wind Farm
Jim Field, Yass
30 September 2015

Dear Editor,

I cannot imagine a more sensitive area for the proposed Rye Park Wind Farm to be put – in steep, timbered, and protected land. The area has a gradient of 18 per cent and steeper, is fragile, has erodible soil and very rare orchids are growing there.

Hundreds of acres will have to be cleared for access roads, turbine sites and Power lines etc.

The landscape will have massive damage done to it because of the clearing, earthworks etc on the steep hills. This will create massive bare areas that will never recover. These bare areas will cause almost 100 per cent runoff, which in turn will cause erosion, creating a possible environmental disaster silting springs, dams, and creeks where the endangered Pygmy Perch fish and Bell Frog live. The area will change FOREVER.

For the people who do not know me, you might ask what would I know about the above. I started an Earthmoving business 50 odd years ago, which is still successful today. We have successfully repaired thousands of acres of erosion over the years and know what will happen if something is put where it should not be put. We have seen what happened at an existing wind turbine site where massive erosion was caused.

If Trustpower is allowed to build the Rye Park Wind Farm people’s beautiful views and quiet country living will be gone, finished because of ugly, noisy monsters, 157 metres tall. Taller than the Sydney Harbour Bridge, with bigger turbines, and they only work when suitable wind blows.

They are inefficient, subsidised with your taxpayer’s money at a minimum of $500,000 per turbine per year.

In 20 years who is going to pull them down? There is an old saying, “SHORT TERM GAIN, LONG TERM PAIN”. The developer will be the only one getting a massive gain, everyone else will suffer.

There have been numerous bushfires close to and where the proposed farm is planned. The best way to fight fires in that area is with aerial support – fixed wing or helicopters .

If the towers go in it will be too dangerous for them to fly near the towers. Without Aerial Support the 2009 Coppabella fire could have spread to Bookham, Bowning, Yass, Murrumbateman, even Canberra, and all the farms in that area would have been in danger of being burnt, with possible major loss of lives.

Without aerial support we will have bigger bushfires than we have ever had if more wind towers go up. How long is it going to take us to wake up about the consequences of these towers?

All wind turbines should be banned starting with the Rye Park Wind Farm because of the following damaging reasons health of humans and animals, families have had to leave their homes, damage to the environment, land values, fires etc etc.
Jim Field

Jim Field: dusts himself off, and heads back into the ring.

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Apart from beating up old-age-pensioners and disabled farmers, Trustpower’s spruikers have been beating up their claims about having unanimous, warm-fuzzy community support.

But, as is almost always the case, wind industry spin tends to take a sharp left-turn – the very moment it has to confront reality. Instead of the “small unruly group” of locals fighting against yet another community disaster, those on the front-foot represent the 91% of locals who are out to stop the project – stone dead.

Here are a couple more views, about the great wind power fraud from switched on Rye Park locals.

When is enough enough?
Rosemary Miller, Rye Park
30 September 2015

Dear Editor,

As a resident of Rye Park I am beginning to wonder how many times do the majority of the residents from Rye Park and surrounds have to say “NO” to the proposed Wind Turbine project on our doorstep. Does a 91 per cent ‘No’ vote have no credibility at all? It is usually the minority voice that is overlooked and overruled but in this particular case it is definitely the majority voice.

I am curious to know if the company Trustpower, in its relentless pursuit of developing wind power as a source of green renewable energy, is being driven purely by a genuine concern of reducing greenhouse emissions and thus helping “save our planet” or being driven purely by a relentless pursuit of making money. I fear the latter.

The fact that Trustpower is offering residents, living on neighbouring properties to the host, $2500 a year if they sign an agreement not to campaign against the construction of wind turbines or lodge any other complaints is as good as admitting that there could be noise and health issues associated with the turbines. Also, not only is the offer of a piddling $2500 an insult but in my opinion nothing short of a bribe.

I recently attended an open information day put on by Trustpower at Rye Park and was told that the company would be legally bound to upgrade and maintain all the access roads to the Rye Park township and to the various wind turbine construction sites to cope with the constant flow of trucks and other heavy earthmoving equipment during a two year period.

Ongoing maintenance to the roads around the towers was also to take place. But what guarantee is there that this will happen? Especially if the actual construction of the proposed wind turbines is to be carried out by a different company who, by the way, will decide which of the proposed access routes is the most suitable. I might mention that one of these routes incorporates Cook Street, Banks Street and Cemetery Road right through the centre of Rye Park. Remember this constant movement of trucks and heavy vehicles would be going on for two years!

Having grown up on the land, I do have an understanding of how hard it is to make a living from a grazing or farming property especially in times of drought and how tempting it must have been to have been offered the promise of quite a substantial amount of money yearly by the wind turbine company in exchange for agreeing to allow the construction of turbines on the property. However, I do have concerns that after 25 years, what will happen when a turbine reaches the end of its life.

When questioned one of the Trustpower team about this I was informed that the Trustpower Company was legally bound to repair or decommission and dismantle a decaying tower but in case of the Trustpower Company being sold on to another company which consequently was declared bankrupt, this agreement would naturally no longer apply. He went on to say that as the metal in a tower would be valuable as scrap, a scrap metal merchant would probably be interested in pulling it down. I have it on good authority that it would be far too costly and difficult for a scrap metal merchant to even consider. What then?

To add insult to injury, I was told the cost of electricity would rise by 4-5 per cent as a result of the development of green renewable energy. As for the promise of funding for the community’s use by Trustpower, I think most residents want Rye Park to stay as it is – thank you.

So all in all I feel the only people who are going to benefit from this whole debacle are the hosts, some of whom are “absentee landlords” living away from it all. I can’t help feeling that it is not altogether fair that neighbours and other residents, who are against this project going ahead, are going to be subjected to noise, road disruptions and possible health issues when I’m sure that if there was an outbreak of a bushfire or some other catastrophe on a host’s property, they would be among the first to lend a hand.
Rosemary Miller

Scrap metal merchants resisting temptation in Hawaii …

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Response to Wind Farm
David and Elaine Sainsbury
2 September 2015

Dear Editor,

We read the front page article ‘Funds blowing in the wind farm’ about Trustpower saying that they will pay a Neighbour Benefit Agreement as the only reason neighbours object to this project is because that they are not making financial gain from it.

People who make this claim are trying to salve their own conscience for accepting money for ‘hosting’ these things. The concern for the opponents is not money, it is living with risk.

Vestas: bringing deadly risk to your doorstep …

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The risk of building oil-filled, 160m tall industrial turbines on treed ridges in a high fire danger area when we are already constantly watching the horizons for smoke in summer. Just try Google for wind turbine fires.

The risk to our environment and protected fauna and flora when the proponents cannot even get their rock type correct in their environmental statement. The ridges on which they want to build are shale and highly erodible leading to sediment dumps in the streams. The extent of the erosion at the Lake George site proves the risk.

The risk of accidents by having to drive along narrow and already potholed country roads with at least 296 construction vehicles every day. This is a conservation estimate from the wind company. Some of these vehicles will carry up to 200 tonnes in a load. Anyone travelling the roads around the Crookwell wind turbine development would have seen the dangers caused.

The risk that the medical problems that have been denied by ‘experts’ are real because recent studies funded by a turbine company shows that they may exist and the NHMRC recommended further study because current research is mainly poor quality.

The risk that if we get sick and cannot live in our home anymore that our property will be worth much less, if we can sell it at all. When some who are benefiting from hosting wind turbines are heard to say that they are glad your prices will drop so that they can buy your property cheap.

The risk that the support and relationships with our neighbours and community so necessary for survival in the country will be irrevocably broken, especially by ‘hosts’ who don’t even live here.

The risk that the worries about all these things will compound the pressures and difficulties of living in rural Australia that makes a farmer twice as likely to take their own lives.

All this for a source of power that is unreliable and there are many less invasive and divisive sources of renewable energy to invest in.
David and Elaine Sainsbury

Rye Park Hall becomes a ‘Memorial’ to wind
industry hubris, arrogance & violence.