Scott River Wind Farm gets green light, bypassing Commonwealth assessment despite community outrage

Activists have been left reeling after the Federal Government gave the controversial Scott River wind farm the green light without a formal Commonwealth assessment.

Despite the community concern, the Synergy development has been able to avoid the higher level of scrutiny while still agreeing to comply with self-imposed measures around water management and flora and fauna protections.

A Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water spokesperson said they did not have to formally assess the area, as there would not be significant impacts on nationally protected matters if undertaken properly.

All three species of black cockatoo are known to live in the area, as well as the Scott River Ironstone Association threatened ecological community, round-leafed honeysuckle, Southern short-styled grevillea, four-petal smokebush, ospreys, and wood sandpipers.

However, the DCCEEW spokesperson said the wind farm was designed so there would be no impact on the area’s protected species or ecological communities.

Despite the department’s confidence, Save the Scott River spokesperson Scott Baxter said allowing Synergy to bypass a Commonwealth assessment would be environmentally detrimental.

“If Synergy says they can comply, they should have nothing to hide,” he said.

“This must be independently verified (not self-assessed) with publicly available raw data, and monitoring designed to match the actual hydrology described in the recovery plan.”

Mr Baxter said without extensive groundwater and water chemistry monitoring, developers would not be able to manage the site during and after the turbines’ construction.

“The State’s own recovery plan describes a connected, south-flowing groundwater system that underpins the (Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act)-listed wetland (threatened ecological community), yet the Federal decision process is operating in a different lane. Monitoring must follow the down-gradient network, not just a small ring around each dewatering point,” he said.

“At Scott River, dewatering is not a simple pump-and-go exercise. It’s a chemistry and habitat risk, and the baseline has not been proven publicly.”

Mr Baxter said the decision was in opposition to State Government recovery documents detailing how the area should be protected and allowed to recover.

“You have to wonder if the left hand is talking to the right hand here,” he said.

“The State’s own recovery plan says one thing, and the Federal decision process seems to be operating in a different lane.”

The $500 million 20-turbine, 100MW project in Scott River is designed to support the State’s energy transition away from coal by 2030.