00:00In the wheatbelt, a new kind of farming is taking root.
00:06We're confident that this location is a good site for a wind farm.
00:10One of the world's largest manufacturers of wind turbines plans to build a 70 turbine
00:14wind farm on the outskirts of Ongarup, driven partly by the state government's decision
00:19to close its coal-fired power stations by 2030.
00:22That's going to be 3,000 to 4,000 megawatts out of the system by 2030, and then growing
00:28to almost double that to 2040.
00:30More than 1,000 turbines are expected to be built in the wheatbelt as part of a dozen
00:34planned wind farms.
00:36Putting up large wind turbines in these regions, they will be visible from any vantage point.
00:43In Kojonup, the Flat Rocks Wind Farm is already producing power.
00:47A local farming family is a key stakeholder.
00:49It's a guaranteed income which is a bit, you know, it's future-proofing bad years in farming
00:55and that's one of the biggest risks with farming, the fluctuations in the seasons.
01:01But not everyone is as enthusiastic about the change.
01:04There are a number of turbines that are 200 metres from our boundaries.
01:09It's just poor planning to do that.
01:14State government control of planning approvals is also creating friction.
01:18At a local government forum in Myeshire recently, the answer was we will go to the state development,
01:24which means, again, local government is a sidestep.
01:27For small local governments to assess major wind farms can actually challenge their capacity,
01:34so there is potential for wind farms to go through a central process of the WA Planning
01:41Commission.
01:42Experts say including local communities in the planning process is the key to more equitable
01:47developments.
01:48The Shire Councillors are very well respected within the community, so you really want them
01:52because at the table and representing their community.
01:55A growing need for energy dividing rural communities.
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