September 12, 2025
The developers of the Wambo Wind Farm have tried to address one of the most frequent complaints heard from local landowners, ie. that while the farmers hosting the towers get a financial benefit, their nearby neighbours don’t.
Project owners Cubico Sustainable Investments and Stanwell Corporation have launched a “Neighbour Benefit Scheme”.
The scheme will provide annual payments ranging from $7500 to $37,500 to eligible neighbours during the operational phase of the wind farm.
The value of the payments will be calculated according to the number of operating turbines located within 3km of a residence:
- $7500 per turbine for the first two turbines,
- $3000 for each turbine thereafter up to six turbines, and
- $1500 for each turbine after that (ie 7+).
Where the eligible neighbour owns land only within 1.5km of an operating turbine (no residence), they will be eligible for a flat fixed sum of $7500 per year.
Stanwell CEO Michael O’Rourke said the scheme would deliver about $9 million in voluntary payments to neighbours over the life of the wind farm.
“We believe that it’s not just the host landholders that should benefit from the financial investment the Wambo Wind Farm is bringing to their community, but neighbouring landholders as well,” Mr O’Rourke said.
“This scheme reflects our strong commitment to ensuring that those who live near Wambo Wind Farm are acknowledged, valued and directly benefit from the infrastructure in their neighbouring backyards.”
The first turbines from Stage 1 of the project are now producing energy.
Thirty-four turbines have been successfully installed so far in Stage 1 with 12 now commissioned.
The Wambo Wind Farm is being built in two stages: 42 turbines in Stage 1 with another 41 in Stage 2.
It will eventually generate more than 500MW of power.
