OUR APPROACH

We’re committed to genuine engagement with local communities surrounding the Mount Lambie Wind Farm project and other project stakeholders. Because building strong relationships is crucial to any socially sustainable project.

The Clean Energy Council has developed a Best Practice Charter for Renewable Energy Projects, which emphasises community engagement. We’re committed to honouring this charter in the way we develop the Mount Lambie Wind Farm.

Following our submission of the Scoping Report, we’ll continue to engage with neighbours and broaden the consultation effort to include the wider community and stakeholders throughout the planning process. And this engagement will be ongoing, as we do more assessments and investigations as part of preparing the Environmental Impact Statement.

The consultation process will provide valuable local insights, to help us identify opportunities and constraints for the proposal.

The proposed Mount Lambie Wind Farm is a New South Wales State Significant Development (SSD).

The NSW Department of Planning and Environment determines whether projects qualify as an SSD - based on their economic, environmental, and social impacts and the principles of ecologically sustainable development.

All current State Significant Development applications are available on the Department of Planning and Environment’s Major Projects Portal. You can visit the Mount Lambie Wind Farm page here.

The portal provides insights into the status of the assessment process. Visitors can access all relevant assessment materials for Development Applications, and find contact details for the Department’s Assessment Officer.

The Department is currently reviewing our Scoping Report, and we’re expecting to receive Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements to inform our Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) shortly. These requirements will be accessible on the Mount Lambie Wind Farm project page.

We’ll undertake comprehensive technical, environmental, and social studies which, together with further community consultation, will shape the development of Mount Lambie Wind Farm.

This includes continuing our engagement with communities in the Lithgow region to understand ways that the area can benefit from the project, such as filling key gap in infrastructure or suggestions for local initiatives. This could include the development of a benefit sharing program to support the local community and provide a long-lasting legacy in the area.

Find out more about the potential benefits of the project here.

We’ll begin the detailed work involved in preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

We’ll need to do a wide range of studies - including comprehensive traffic assessments, noise assessments, cultural heritage, biodiversity, social and economic assessments and more – to help review the wind farm design to ensure it’s compatible with the unique local biodiversity and meets community requirements.

These studies take time, because we need to thoroughly understand the social dynamics and environment around the proposed development. The longest studies are the bird and bat utilisation surveys (BBUS), which tend to take at least two years, covering eight seasons.

If approved, the Mount Lambie Wind Farm could supply clean energy to around 115,000 NSW homes and avoid 420,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year.

We expect the Mount Lambie Wind Farm to operate for 25-35 years if it proceeds to construction. As a signatory to the Clean Energy Council’s Best Practice Charter, we’re committed to working respectfully with communities during the project’s development, construction, operation, and end of life decommissioning.

We take community concerns regarding decommissioning seriously. Decommissioning means that the wind turbines, site office and any other ancillary infrastructure is removed from the site, and roads and foundation pads are covered and revegetated, allowing land to be returned to its former use. Typically, landowner contracts and Development Applications contain definite clauses setting out the expectations around rehabilitating the site.

Read more on the Clean Energy Council’s Decommissioning guidelines here.