00:00A remote, windswept island that's been the focus of intense environmental debate.
00:07Home to a wide range of bird life and on the migratory path for the critically endangered orange-bellied parrot,
00:13Robins Island will now also host a 100-turbine wind farm.
00:18Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt giving final Commonwealth approval after seven delays.
00:24We simply will not be able to tackle the climate change challenge that we have as a nation.
00:29Without more renewable projects being delivered.
00:33It follows years of assessments and legal challenges from environmental groups.
00:38We've done everything we can on the scientific evidence we've got available to put in place conditions for this project.
00:44The Commonwealth has placed 88 conditions on the wind farm.
00:48These include funding for the Tasmanian Government's orange-bellied parrot conservation program,
00:54barriers on a new bridge to protect facial tumour-free Tasmanian devils on the island,
01:00and a bird management plan which could include temporary turbine shutdowns.
01:05This plan will be finalised by Mr Watt before construction starts, which the company expects will be in late 2027.
01:13The sense that we might need to shut down turbines, we believe, is not going to be necessary.
01:21We already see turbine curtailment in lots of wind farms in Tasmania, certainly in the northeast.
01:27The Identiflight system automatically curtails using AI when it detects an eagle.
01:33The 212-metre-tall turbines will be built on farmland around the centre of the island.
01:39There will also be a 500-metre-long wharf off the northeast shore,
01:44and transmission lines still to be approved.
01:46The 900-megawatt project could provide power for up to 400,000 homes.
01:51We know we need more generation in our state as the economy continues to grow.
01:57Environmental groups vowing to continue campaigning against it,
02:01although legal avenues may now be exhausted.
02:04The last thing a species that is critically endangered with one foot in the grave needs is a new threat.
02:10It's really, it breaks me actually, it really does.
02:14Here in Tasmania we've got the most incredible wildlife and we're prepared to just let it go.
02:21A balancing act between unique environments and the push for a renewable future.
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