Wind farm
The proposed 12 turbines at Cobden are arranged to the north and north west of the only runway 36/18 (sealed and lit), the closest, nearly due north in company with three others, is 1.4 nm. These monstrous structures are at near enough 800ft (600ft AGL) into the circuit area. No one in their right mind would have them so close to the only public airport between Colac and Warrnambool if there was the slightest consideration of a community and taxpayer funded airport facility. CASA typically couldn’t barely care less because though planned for Code 1 registration Cobden won’t get that before the Planning Minister decides. If these turbines go ahead that will finish the airport for the fire-fighting service, night flying and more than likely the air ambulance also. Flying school use? Send your students there? How bad this might prove to be in the circuit area with a nor-wester blowing 30 kt we don’t know; but I’ll bet it won’t be benign. Take off and turn onto crosswind you will undoubtedly run the gauntlet at less than 1 nm distance below the towers. With liability issues the Council might have to close the airport.
Some comment here about the desirability of wind farms in general. What is apparent whether you like them or not is the near total lack of procedures to safeguard the property rights of the surrounding land owners, mostly farmers. Victoria’s rules say no problem if you are more than 1 km. Is there any law preventing tower site manipulation which could devalue nearby properties? Seems to me that big land grab money temptations might be the big sleeper in this debate in an evolving industry building ever larger turbines.