SAY GOODBYE TO TOMAHAWK?
The Tomahawk we love is about to be destroyed by North East Wind.
SAY GOODBYE TO TOMAHAWK?
The Tomahawk we love is about to be destroyed by North East Wind.
CONSULTATION? HEY, TOMAHAWK wasn'T EVEN ON THEIR MAP!
On their original website for the project ACEN published a map showing the region but leaving Tomahawk completely off the map. Doubling down, the two screen grabs above, both taken from maps in ACEN's 2022 Major Project proposal, also omit Tomahawk. The arrows show where Tomahawk should appear.
The only directly affected town in the N.e. - EASY TO MISS?
OR JUST INCONVENIENT?
For those who have never visited Tomahawk this is a satellite image. Admittedly no metropolis, but hardly inconsequential.
Incredibly, doubling down even further in their Major Project application where they are required to identify stakeholders and who they will be consulting with, residents and shack owners at Tomahawk get no mention. However, as you can see from their maps above (on the left), Tomahawk will be the only directly impacted township in the entire north-east. The red lines indicate the development 'envelopes',
5 YEARS INTO THEir development THEY show US THIS MAP:
According to ACEN's website they have been planning this development since 2019. It was not until October 2024 that ACEN met with the Tomahawk community and told us that a map showing where their towers will be put on their website. Three weeks later, at the Tomahawk recreation ground on November 17, they displayed the map shown above. As you can see, it clearly shows the town surrounded by towers (the blue dots with white surrounds), with some as close as 3km. Although the words "INDICATIVE TURBINE LAYOUT" appear across each 'envelope', when we asked the ACEN employees present if any towers near the town could be moved, we were bluntly told "That is not going to happen".
BEFORE YOU SAY 'NIMBY'
THESE TOWERS ARE AT A SCALE PREVIOUSLY UNSEEN IN TASMANIA.
Before you say NIMBY (not in my backyard) these proposed towers are 270 metres high, almost as tall as Sydney Tower, which as everyone knows, dominates the Sydney skyline. Dwarfing the towers at Mussleroe, these structures are at a gargantuan scale unseen in this state, and apart from any social, noise, flickering, wildlife or environmental considerations, will dominate the landscape wherever they are installed.
ACEN SAY THEY FOLLOW BEST PRACTICE?
ON THEIR LATEST MAP THEY HAVE LEFT OFF MOUNT CAMERON
From almost every viewpoint around Tomahawk, Mount Cameron dominates the landscape. (Think the Hazards at Coles Bay). For the township, it is the significant landscape. The map overlays ACEN's map (they obviously left Mount Cameron off their map). Our overlay shows the line of sight from Tomahawk to the range. The blue dots are the foreign company's turbines. According to the Clean Energy Council Best Practice Guidelines (2018), significant landscapes are to be protected. The picture below simulates what the view of the range will be from Tomahawk beach.
The guidelines also clearly define what community consultation actually is (nothing like the belated 'show and tell' we have seen so far) and that consultation should begin well before planning starts.
View of Mt Cameron from Tomahawk beach (as proposed by ACEN).
A 500 METRE WHARF WILL BE CONSTRUCTED IN RINGAROOMA BAY?
There are many unanswered questions concerning ACEN's proposal. There is the noise and the flickering effect. There is an unknown effect on the bay if the proposed half-kilometre jetty goes ahead. There are questions about the birdlife in the region. In the weeks and months to come we will be exploring all these questions and will be posting what we find here.