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Main components: The primary (permanent) components of the proposed Newfield wind farm are:

# A total of fifteen (15), 1.5 MW turbines with hub heights of 69 m located along the ridgeline on the subject land;

# An electrical substation located adjacent to the Waarre Road frontage next to the existing electrical line that runs to the adjacent Otway and TRU Energy Gas Plant and Storage facilities;

# A control room, compound area and switchyard located within the substation area;

# An internal network of access tracks linking each turbine, and access tracks from Waarre Road and another access track via Collins Road;

# A series of underground electrical cables located in trenches alongside the access tracks, linking the electrical output of each turbine to the substation; and

# A permanent wind monitoring mast of about 70m high located on the ridgeline.

Management by manufacturers: AEO expects to reach a Warranty, Operation and Management agreement with the turbine manufacturers. Under this agreement, the manufacturer would agree to operate, manage and maintain the wind farm for the period of the warranty on the wind farm.

AEO to assume responsibility: Once the warranty expires, AEO would assume these responsibilities. But AEO would be confined to managing the day to day operation of the wind farm.

Control building: Ongoing maintenance of the wind farm would be undertaken on site. The control building will contain 12 kV switchgear, control, protection and communications equipment with associated battery power supplies and cabling.

Turbine monitoring: It will also house a centralised SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system. The SCADA system enables the monitoring and control of all wind turbines in the wind farm and the substation equipment.

Pre-empting Campbell: There is a 1979 record of the Orange-bellied Parrot Neophema chrysogaster from the coastline west of Port Campbell. It is considered unlikely that this species would occur within the study area.

A coastal bird: Due to the inland nature of the site and the lack of preferred coastal habitat, it is also considered unlikely that Orange-bellied Parrot would fly through the wind farm site.

Reference: Acciona Energy Oceania Pty Ltd/Energy generation and supply (renewable)/Newfield/VIC/Newfield wind farm. Reference No: 2007/3226. Proponent: Acciona Energy Oceania Pty Ltd, Level 3, 49-51 Stead Street, South Melbourne VIC 3205, Australia. Telephone: (03) 9696 6500, Fax: (03) 9696 6555, Email: jgaschignard@accionaenergy.com.au. Contact: Julien Gaschignard.

Erisk Net, 15/1/2007

Former Regal Petroleum chief: Nolte is the chief executive of the European division of Firepower, a fuel technology company from Perth which has emerged as a major Australian sports sponsor. He joined Firepower after resigning as CEO of Regal Petroleum.

Jumped from sinking ship: Regal was briefly one of the most valuable stocks on London’s Alternative Investment market after it reported a huge oil discovery off the coast of Greece. But its share price collapsed in mid-2005 after the oil well was found to be non-commercial.

Halliburton’s man in Germany: Nolte, who resigned several months before the stock collapse, is also a former head of Halliburton in Germany – the oil company associated with the US Vice-President, Dick Cheney.

Rabbitohs, Sydney Kings sponsor: Firepower’s investors reportedly include high-profile AFL footballers. It burst onto the Australian sporting scene in November as the sponsor of the south Sydney Rabbitohs rugby league team and the Sydney Kings basketball team.

Celebrity endorsement: The West Australian reported at the weekend that the former Australian cricket captain Steve Waugh would help sell Firepower’s products in India, as would five unnamed members of the Australian Wallabies. A spokesman for Firepower was unable to confirm that report but he did confirm Nolte’s position with the company.

Austrade export grants: The Sydney Morning Herald revealed last week that Firepower had received nearly $400,000 in export grants through Austrade. Austrade also helped to get one of Firepower’s products, a machine that cleans fuel systems, manufactured in Romania under a complicated arrangement with the British arms dealer BAE Systems.

Romanian govt manufacturer: The machines were made by RomArm, the weapons branch of the Romanian Government.

The Australian Financial Review, 16/1/2007, p.5

Burden of choice removed: Water authorities have been given the power to require developments to install "dual-pipe" systems to deliver non-drinking water for domestic uses such as car-washing, toilets and gardens. Builders and planners say mandatory regulations are unnecessary because the private sector has been installing the systems in response to growing demand from home buyers.

Call for tough rules on public building: The Development Institute of Australia’s Victorian chief executive, Tony De Domenico, called on the government to mandate equally tough water conservation measures for all public-sector projects, such as schools and public housing. He said lower stamp duty should be offered for homes with water-saving systems.

First-year savings of 4 billion litres: Recycled, or grey, water for housing estates in Melbourne’s south-east will come from the Eastern Irrigation Scheme, a recycling project, and be delivered through purple pipes and hoses fitted in homes. The government estimates the first connections will save 4 billion litres of water a year.

The Australian Financial Review, 16/1/2007, p.3

Renee Switzer
January 17, 2007

Electricity crews have repaired damage to a major transmission line that caused massive power failures yesterday, but Victorians are urged to conserve power today amid high temperatures and the continuing fire threat.

And, as the heatwave continues, Premier Steve Bracks said the possibility of mandatory power restrictions would remain as long as the bushfire crisis continued.

Full story, go to The Age

EXCLUSIVE: Chris Tinkler

January 14, 2007 12:00am

THE Bracks Government is outraged at a leaked federal proposal to tax rainwater collected from roofs.

The idea was revealed in a leaked email seen by the Sunday Herald Sun.

Acting Premier John Thwaites yesterday warned that if water was privatised — as proposed by some federal Liberals — a tax on rainwater in tanks would follow.

The Bracks Government is furious at the mooted tax — it pays rebates on tanks as a water conservation measure.

In the email, National Water Commission chief Ken Matthews says, "Legally, all water in Australia is vested in governments."

Mr Matthews’ email continued: "Governments have not yet considered the capture of water from roofs in rainwater tanks to be of sufficient magnitude to warrant the issuing of specific entitlements to use this class of water.

"However, if rainwater tanks were to be adopted on a large scale such that their existence impacts significantly on the integrated water cycle, consideration could be given to setting an entitlement regime for this class of water."

Such a regime already exists for farmers catching rainwater and storing it in dams.

A residential household version could include a licensing arrangement and taxes for those wanting to collect more than a set amount.

The commission yesterday confirmed the email was accurate.

More on this story, go to Herald Sun

The Australian, 23-24/12/2006, p.15

Source: Erisk Net