Considerable and growing interest from wind and bioenergy investors looking to locate their projects in the Wheatbelt has highlighted an absence of planning frameworks to help local governments navigate this space.
As the State government storms ahead with its plans to meet WA's increasing power needs via the addition of renewables, some regional shires have encouraged the Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA), as well as the State government to support the development of clear guidelines for WA's renewable energy projects, to assist shires in their decision-making processes.
Wheatbelt Development Commission (WDC) acting chief executive Susan Hall said it was important that communities discussed the possibilities that might arise from large external investments in their areas, and consider how these investments contribute to their community.
"While local governments need to consider policies that best suit their communities, the WDC is talking - generally with voluntary regional organisations of councils - about what we term community preparedness," Ms Hall said.
"This starts with local shires understanding the interest in the Wheatbelt region for access to land and land owners; what this means in advance; and what the local government can do to support the aspirations of the community and, if appropriate, the investors."
Acknowledging that remuneration is an important topic for land owners and local communities negotiating with renewable energy companies, Ms Hall said much of the discussions WDC had been involved in related to minimising disruption to agricultural activities and on infrastructure such as roads, as well as considering challenges such as housing shortages and other infrastructure.
"Part of WDC's work is to create conversation and encourage local governments across the region to share information, so regional people are more aware of the types of compensation that can be requested and have been paid in other areas," Ms Hall said.
Ms Hall said by communities having these discussions early on in the piece, seeking information from multiple sources on rights and best practice, they were equipped with the tools to negotiate effectively with external investors.
"It has been raised on numerous occasions during engagement with local communities that provision of information and access to knowledge of possibilities, including land owners rights in access negotiations, is extremely important now that there is growing interest in this region by large external companies," she said.
"That is, while compensation is extremely important, communities want large external investors to take their social responsibilities seriously, including community engagement and community building."
Wind farms in the Wheatbelt
The Wheatbelt currently accounts for about 60 per cent of the State's renewable energy requirements.
However there is potential for this number to increase in the future due to the region's suitability for wind farms, which are expected to play a major role in WA's decarbonisation.
A State government spokesperson said wind generation currently contributed about 17 per cent of electricity generation to the main electricity network, the South West Interconnected System (SWIS).
Looking forward however, the government spokesperson said wind generation capacity was expected to supply about one third of a five-fold increase projected for supply load growth in the SWIS by 2042.
As a result of the region's increasing popularity as a wind farm location, a number of individual local governments in the region have drafted their own policies, sometimes in advance, of negotiations with renewable energy companies seeking to locate wind turbines within their shires.
This includes the Shire of Narrogin, which designed a draft policy to help address community concerns around potential noise and visual pollution created by wind farms, as well as their impact on farming activities such as aerial spraying.
In terms of the potential benefits and challenges for farmers dealing with renewable energy companies looking to utilise their land, Pastoralists and Graziers Association of WA president Tony Seabrook encouraged any landholder considering striking a deal to first engage the services of a lawyer.
"No one can just go and put a wind farm on your farm, they have to negotiate with the land owner a deal that works for both parties," Mr Seabrook said.
"But I think you would be a mug if you didn't engage a lawyer for that process, to make sure you hammer through a deal that you're happy with...although your neighbour might potentially be a bit p....d off once you've done it."
Mr Seabrook said the enduring leases associated with the State's renewable energy projects meant community concerns that they could lock up some of the State's prime agricultural land were "just".
"At the end of the day it's always about money...but the repercussions will be further down the line if we start seeing these transmission lines all over the place," he said.
