August 1, 2024
Farming lobby group AgForce is urging primary producers considering hosting wind turbines on their properties to take “extra precautions”.
The group believes the State Government’s Wind Farm Code requires urgent reforms to protect farmers from decommissioning costs when projects end.
CEO Michael Guerin says it was vital that landholders not jeopardise the future of their farms by being too hasty to develop.
“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.
“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.”
The State Government is currently reviewing the Wind Farm Code.
