Advocacy, Engagement and Information

Moyne_challenges_colour(PDF, 890KB)

Moyne-Energy-4-panels(PDF, 6MB)

Moyne-Energy-Drivers-of-Change(PDF, 3MB)

Moyne-Energy-Opportunities(PDF, 2MB)

Moyne-Wind-Farm-Roles(PDF, 2MB)

Council is Advocating for Moyne so that community voices can be heard by all levels of government about energy development, particularly wind farms. Council has ongoing communications with government about a range of energy development issues including wind farm noise, setbacks, transmission lines, traffic & road management and environmental impacts

Council’s current position is to oppose further development of wind farms in the Shire unless the State government implements key recommendations of the Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner

Council generally establishes a Community Engagement Committee (CEC) for each wind farm where there is community interest. CECs consist of community, developer and Council representatives. The general purpose of a Community Engagement Committee is to:

• assist with the timely and effective flow of information between the community, the developer, Council and relevant stakeholders.
• establish productive working relationships between the developer, the community, Council and other stakeholders.

The membership and minutes of each Community Engagement Committee are on the individual wind farm webpages. To access these pages click here 

How Council engages with the community, government and developers is important. The Energy Projects team are currently preparing a community and stakeholder engagement strategy and action plan. Further updates will be provided as the project progresses.

All wind farms in Moyne provide financial benefits back to the local community through community grants and other programs. For more information about a program near you go to the wind farm’s website

How developers engage with the community when planning, constructing and operating a renewable energy facility is very important.  Working with the community to decide how the community can benefit from the wind farm is a part of early engagement on a project.

There are a number of guidelines that set out best practice engagement for the renewable energy industry. These guidelines can be used by Councils and the community to guide discussions, with a potential developer, about best practice. 

• Community Engagement and Benefit Sharing for Renewable Energy Development (DELWP) can be found here
• A Guide to Benefit Sharing Options For Renewable Energy Projects (Clean Energy Council) can be found here
• Community Engagement Guidelines For Building Powerlines For Renewable Energy Developments (Clean Energy Council) can be found here

Andrew Dyer is the Australian Energy Infrastructure Commissioner appointed by the Australian Government. The Commissioner’s role is to receive and refer complaints from concerned community residents about wind farms, large-scale solar farms, energy storage facilities and electricity transmission lines. He also promotes best practices for industry and government to adopt, for the planning and operation of these projects.

The Commissioner releases a report annually. Observations and recommendations from the 2020 report can be found here https://www.nwfc.gov.au/observations-and-recommendations

You can make a complaint to the Commissioner via AIEC website https://www.nwfc.gov.au/making-a-complaint