Wind farm concerns continue

CHANGES have been made to Acciona Energia’s proposed Tall Tree Wind Farm following pushback from the community.

The company’s design changes were released early last week and include reducing the tip height of all turbines from 271.5 metres to 250.5 metres, and removing six towers from the site’s south-east corner.

Acciona Energia spokesperson William Churchill said the changes are in direct response to community concerns.

“Since unveiling the project to the wider public in early March we’ve had ongoing discussions with the community, neighbours and various interest groups, receiving feedback about the project and answering questions,” he said.

“We do recognise the concerns from some community members about turbine locations between Lethbridge and Teesdale and we’ve looked at the project and how we can accommodate this feedback.

“In response to these concerns and following discussions with the affected landowner we agreed this is the best pathway forward.”

The project design boasts up to 60 wind turbine generators and associated infrastructure with the potential to power more than 265,000 homes.

Set to be situated around Lethbridge’s west and Teesdale’s north, the project’s site would be adjacent to Lethbridge Airport which management have said would make for more difficult aircraft flying conditions.

Airport co-owner Garry Baum said the design changes make no difference.

“The diameter of the blades is still the same, so the wind turbulence from that would still be the same,” he said.

“Twenty metres is nothing. The approach we have into the actual airfield, we’d go through the turbines when we should clear them by 500 feet.

“[The reduction] doesn’t help us one bit and doesn’t make any difference. The removal of six turbines is better than nothing but our problems are still there.”

With plans to subdivide a portion of the airfield land currently held up to due to the wind farm, Mr Baum said he’d welcome a face-to-face discussion with the project’s organisers.

“No one is very keen to want to buy or do anything until we hear the outcome of these wind turbines,” he said.

“If their so-called experts could give me a positive answer or if we could get a meeting with them, we’d be right. They haven’t come up with the release of any studies and we’ve been asking them for years.”