Accelerate the World's Transition to Sustainable Energy - to fight Anthropogenic Climate Change, page-36950

HIDDEN WIND TURBINE DECOMMISSIONING COSTS A RISK FOR FARMERS


Farmers enticed by the financial benefits of hosting wind turbines on their property may be lumped with the cost of decommissioning the infrastructure at the end of its lifespan, Member for Mallee Anne Webster warned today, echoing the Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner’s previous alert that wind turbine earnings could be outweighed by the removal costs.

While total fees earned for hosting a wind turbine for 25 years could yield farmers $250,000-$750,000, figures from the Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner indicate decommissioning costs of up to $600,000 or more per turbine.

“Always read the fine print. If the project owner defaults, farmers could be left paying to decommission the turbine,” Dr Webster said.“ The landholder generally doesn’t own the project’s assets so they cannot simply sell them. Even if farmers have a decommissioning arrangement with the project owner, these projects can change hands many times over its lifespan, jeopardising any agreement made, and risking the landowner responsible for the $600,000 per wind turbine.” Dr Webster said farmers need to take decommissioning costs and risks into account before deciding to host turbines, which could also have ramifications for their farmland and their neighbours.

“Some renewable energy project developers have been quick to promote projects to communities without securing social licence, or responding to genuine concerns people have,” Dr Webster said, pointing to damning figures released on the weekend...

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