Wind power is the best technology currently available to cut greenhouse gas emissions generated by electricity according to an independent study commissioned by the Victorian Government.
Victorian Environment Minister John Thwaites said Victorian wind farms generated enough energy to power 90,000 homes for an entire year and that it saved more than 250,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions – the equivalent of taking 60,000 cars off the state's roads.
The Victorian Government is investing heavily in renewable sources of energy, he said, aiming to produce 1000 megawatts of wind power alone by 2010.
The independent study, carried out by Maclennan Magasanik and Associates for sustainability, Victoria seems to support this target but the Federal Government is sending out mixed signals on wind power.
The Federal Agriculture Minister Peter McGauran recently attacked the wind farm industry, describing it as a fraud relying on taxpayer subsidies.
"Wind farms don't live up to the hype that they are an environmental saviour and a serious alternate energy source…their claims are fraudulent," he said on ABC radio.
Susan Jeanes from the Renewable Energy Generators of Australia says the entire national electricity market was built with Government money and the comments are disappointing.
"I suspect that it's better that we let the Environment Minister comment on matters relating to renewable energy and climate change and let the Agriculture Minister comment on matters relating to agriculture," she said.
The Minister for Environment and Heritage, Senator Ian Campbell, says the Australian Government is supportive of wind farms but wants to ensure "it continues to form part of our energy mix, in a way that is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable."
The Minister has already been at the centre of a number of controversial decisions concerning the development of wind farm projects around Australia and has warned that, "An increasing number of communities are expressing concern about the potential impact of wind energy installations on landscapes, amenity and threatened species.
"The wind energy industry is also concerned about the need for greater consistency and transparency in the wind energy installation planning and approval process."
Mr Campbell released a discussion paper on a proposed National Code for Wind Farms earlier this year saying there had been rapid growth on wind installations in Australia and it was time to address issues surrounding its development.
"The number of wind farms across Australia has grown rapidly over the past decade," Mr Campbell said. "In 1996, there were only 20 wind turbines in Australia, with a total energy generating capacity of around 2.7 megawatts. Today there are 444 wind turbines, representing a 2120 per cent increase, with a total capacity of 638 megawatts.
Another 130 turbines are under construction.
"A nationally consistent development process will help harness the potential of wind energy to combat climate change, while reassuring communities and industry about planning, approval and operational issues."
The States and Territory Environment Ministers however rejected Mr Campbell's proposal at a meeting of environment Ministers in Sydney (EPHC) last month.
The Victorian Environment Minister John Thwaites, says the code would have been another bureaucratic barrier to the growth of a renewable energy source.
"The lack of support for wind farms from the Howard Government is coming at the same time they seem to be supporting nuclear energy," he said.
"We believe that clean, green, renewable energy wind farms are much more the way to go."
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