Planning and Environment
Current approvals
The Rye Park Wind Farm received planning and environmental approvals in 2017. Links to key assessment and approval documents are provided below:
- The Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Rye Park Wind Farm was lodged with the NSW Department of Planning and Environment (now known as Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, DPIE) in March 2014. A copy of the EA can be found here.
- Since acquiring the project in 2014, Tilt Renewables undertook extensive additional site investigations and stakeholder consultation. As a result, a number of refinements were made to the site layout including a reduction in the number of turbines from 126 to 109 and adjustments to the locations of turbines, access tracks, powerlines and associated infrastructure. A Response to Submissions report was lodged with DPIE which was placed on public exhibition from 18 May 2016 to 23 June 2016. A copy of the report can be downloaded here.
- The Project received planning approval for up to 92 turbines from the former NSW Planning Assessment Commission (PAC) in May 2017. A copy of the final approval (Development Consent) and conditions can be downloaded here.
- The Project also received approval under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) issued by the Department of the Environment and Energy (now known as the Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment (DAWE) in December 2017 (reference EPBC 2014/7163), and can be downloaded here.
During construction and operation of the wind farm there will be a number of activities required to comply with the Development Consent and EPBC Act approvals. These will include environmental compliance such as bird and bat monitoring, noise compliance monitoring and visual assessments to ensure compliance with the development consent requirements.
Modification to the Rye Park Wind Farm development consent
On Thursday 23 April, we lodged the Rye Park Wind Farm Modification Application to the DPIE.
Since the project was approved, there have been significant advancements in wind turbine technology. New, more efficient turbines are now available. Using the latest turbines at Rye Park Wind Farm would allow the project to generate more electricity from fewer turbines, powering more homes with clean energy.
Recent technical studies, detailed design and construction planning has also given us a clearer picture of how the Rye Park Wind Farm could look and operate.
The proposed modification includes:
- removal of 12 wind turbines from 92 to 80;
- increased to the wind turbine envelope to a maximum height of 200m (from 157m);
- revisions to the Development Corridor to accommodate revised indicative Development Footprint; and
- selection of a Preferred Transport Route.
DPIE ran their statutory consultation process from Wednesday, 13 May for 21 days until Wednesday, 3 June. The period of public exhibition is now closed.
The Modification Application is still available for download or viewing via the NSW Major Projects website.
We understand that the Modification Application itself could be a bit overwhelming to navigate due to its length and scale of technical information. We’ve therefore prepared a digital platform, informryeparkwf.com to facilitate an accessible exploration of the detailed information included in the Modification Application. This website remains active and the platform includes summaries of the Modification Application (including environmental assessments), interactive maps and FAQs.
EPBC approval
The Modified Project may have an increased impact on matters listed within the EPBC Approval. Discussions with the DAWE are in progress to assess this.