Bob Brown Foundation set to fight planning approvals for Robbins Island wind farm

The Bob Brown Foundation's intention to appeal with the Tasmanian Civil and Administration Tribunal (TASCAT) follows wind farm developer ACEN Australia's announcement to also appeal an environmental mitigation measure that would see the farm closed for five months each year.

Circular Head Council gave the green light to the 900 MW, 122 turbine wind farm planned for North West Tasmania's Robbins Island in February.

This followed Tasmania's Environmental Protection Authority's approval of the wind farm in December last year, on condition that the turbines be switched off for five months out of 12, to protect orange-bellied parrots during their migration.

ACEN Australia said the measure makes the project "commercially unviable".

Bob Brown Foundation campaigner Scott Jordan said the wind farm planning approvals rely heavily on incomplete data and the submission of future reports into threatened species.

"This approval is half baked. They have approved the largest wind farm in the southern hemisphere, in Australia's most significant migratory bird flyways, without knowing how many turbines, the size of the turbines, the colour, the lighting or even where they will be sited," Mr Jordan said.

"The vast majority of issues affecting the over thirty threatened and migratory species utilising the island for breeding and feeding are deferred off to reports to be compiled and submitted after this approval. It makes a mockery of the pubic planning assessment system."

"This is a bad project made worse by a system that has rushed an approval out the door without even basic information needed to assess it's impacts."

He said the Orange Bellied Parrot is one of five critically endangered species on the island, and the other four received no protections in the approval.

These include the Swift Parrot, the Curlew Sandpiper, the Far Eastern Curlew and the Great Knot.

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