Tilting at Windmills
May 22, 20265 hours
David Waterworth
0 Comments
Support CleanTechnica's work through a Substack subscription or on Stripe.
Tilting at windmills is an English language idiom that means “attacking imaginary enemies.” It’s a famous line from the book Don Quixote.
I recently caught up with Tom Sjolund of Volvo EX30 fame. You can read about his EV adventures here. He has more travelling adventures planned for his Volvo, but this time he wanted to talk about wind farms. He was keen to tell me about his tour of the Clarke Creek Wind Farm. This wind farm is owned and operated by Squadron Energy, which in turn is owned by the Forrest family. CleanTechnica reported on the early stages of the wind farm’s development here. For more, over to you, Tom:
“Don Quixote was a fictional character in a novel written in 1670’s. The Don was delusional and thought windmills were demons, not realising that they made the flour for bread that kept people fed. Much like some in the conservative political parties, both in Australia and USA, that think wind turbines are demons.
“But no, this is not a story about the ‘Don’ but about a trip I made to Squadron Energy’s Clarke Creek Wind Park up in Central Queensland, and I hope you get where I’m going with this. On my trip to Clarke Creek Wind Farm, I found myself wondering whether modern objections to renewable energy — particularly around ‘visual amenity’ — are a version of exactly that.” [Demonisation. I am reminded of the first time I saw the Angel of the North in the UK. Some would regard it as a rusting monument to an ugly past. Others, like myself, find it breathtakingly beautiful.]
“Visual amenity is one of the most common concerns raised in submissions against renewable energy projects. For example, a proposed battery energy storage system (BESS) near Mackay was recently called in at the request of the local council, citing concerns about how it would look. This was despite the site being located next to an existing substation in a rural area.
“This concern is not unique. It appears frequently in rural communities across Queensland and throughout Australia.
“Yet we already accept extensive infrastructure in our landscapes. Power poles and transmission lines run through nearly every community, connecting homes and businesses to the grid. Most people barely notice them anymore — they’ve become part of the background.
“Clarke Creek Wind Farm sits along the Marlborough–Sarina Road, an easy and scenic rural drive. As you approach, turbines begin to appear on the horizon. Near Access Point 1, several stand close to the roadside.
“I found them striking rather than intrusive — particularly when viewed alongside the high-voltage transmission lines that have occupied the same landscape for years with little comment.” [Perhaps it’s just what we get used to!]
“The tour consisted of meeting a staff member (she was actually part of the media team based in Mackay) at the wind park (I’ve started to use the European term as opposed to farm). She drove me around everywhere I wanted to go. We stopped in places I wanted to stop to get some photos. From one vantage point, we could see a worker’s village for the Broadsound Solar Farm and Battery Project, which I believe is now going through commissioning, and just up the road is Lotus Creek Wind Park, which was approved before our anti-renewables LNP government and is still being built by the government.”
I asked Tom about possible noise pollution from the turbines: “The only time I heard any noise was when they first started, a bit of squeaking to start, then nothing. Even up in the range as they really started to turn faster, I could not hear them.
“The staff member guided me into the ranges along well-maintained access tracks. The setting was impressive. Turbines were carefully positioned along ridge lines and individual peaks — both visually striking and clearly optimised for performance. It was easy to see why the site generates power so effectively.
“As someone attentive to environmental impacts, I looked closely for signs of erosion, especially following recent heavy rain. I observed very little, aside from minor runoff on one steep section of track.
“I asked the Squadron representative about wildlife impacts. The response: ‘We take our commitment to environmental protection and preservation seriously. Government approved environmental management plans are in place for biodiversity, vegetation and fauna and we have an offset strategy. An environmental monitoring program is in place for at least five years as part of the project’s approval conditions.’ I was also told there have been no known impacts on koalas or greater gliders.
“This brings us back to visual amenity. Using Google Earth, I compared images of the Clarke Creek Wind Park with areas just 60–70 kilometres to the west, in the Bowen Basin, where the landscape is dominated by coal mining operations.”
A little research reveals that the 450 MW Clarke Creek Wind Park produces enough electricity to power around 330,000 Queensland homes and avoid 738,000 tonnes of carbon emissions each year.
“The contrast is stark.
“The wind park produces electricity without ongoing pollution and often operates close to its capacity and is one of Queensland’s best performing wind farms. In contrast, coal mining operations consume vast amounts of diesel and produce a resource that contributes significantly to climate change — whether the coal is used as thermal coal or for steelmaking.
“So, the question remains: which landscape should concern us more?”
Are we crazy enough to attack the very machines that ensure our survival? Don’t be a Don.
Sign up for CleanTechnica's Weekly Substack for Zach and Scott's in-depth analyses and high level summaries, sign up for our daily newsletter, and follow us on Google News! Advertisement Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here. Sign up for our daily newsletter for 15 new cleantech stories a day. Or sign up for our weekly one on top stories of the week if daily is too frequent. CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.CleanTechnica's Comment Policy