CommunityAttitudes_DECCW

8/7/2019 CommunityAttitudes_DECCW

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Community Attitudes to

Wind Farms in NSW


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Client Contacts

Dr Chris Briggs - State Coordinator, Renewable Energy Precincts

Polly Mitchell - Policy Officer, Climate Change, Air & Noise

NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water

AMR Interactive Contacts

David Span - Research Director

Nina Mital - Group Account Director

Ogilvy House, 72 Christie Street, St Leonards, NSW 2065

Ph: 02 9020 6700

Email: [email protected]; [email protected]

Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water NSW

59-61 Goulburn Street Sydney 2000

PO Box A290 Sydney South 1232

Ph. 1300 361 967

DECCW 2010/947 / ISBN 978 1 74293 011 4

Project 3963

16 September 2010

2010 AMR InteractiveDisclaimer

This report was prepared by AMR Interactive in good faith exercising all due care and attention, butno representation or warranty, express or implied, is made as to the relevance, accuracy,completeness or fitness for purpose of this document in respect of any particular userscircumstances. Users of this document should satisfy themselves concerning its application to, andwhere necessary seek expert advice in respect of, their situation. The views expressed within are notnecessarily the views of the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water NSW (DECCW)and may not represent DECCW policy.


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Community Attitudes to Wind Farms in NSW

2010 AMR Interactive

List of Tables

Table 1. Local Government Areas in the Renewable Energy Precincts............................ 14

Table 2. Example of table: Level of agreement that wind farms help increase tourism,by Precincts and regional control area ...................................................... 16

Table 3. Sampling of industries and groupings for analysis ......................................... 18

Table 4. Residency, location and size, by Precincts and regional control area ................. 19

Table 5. Ratings of aspects of local region, by Precincts and regional control area ........... 22

Table 6. Spontaneous awareness of clean energy sources, by Precincts and regionalcontrol area....................................................................................... 23

Table 7. Spontaneous awareness of clean energy sources in Precincts, by gender and age .. 24

Table 8. Acceptable power sources for proposed power station, by Precincts andregional control area............................................................................ 25

Table 9. Acceptable power sources for proposed power station, by gender, age and area

of residence....................................................................................... 25

Table 10. General awareness of wind farms, by Precinct and regional control area ............ 26

Table 11. Source of information about wind farms, by Precincts and regional control area(unprompted multi-response) ............................................................... 29

Table 12. Perception of consultation about wind farms and adequacy of information, byPrecincts and regional control area .......................................................... 30

Table 13. Information needs, by level of support/opposition to wind farms 1-2 km fromresidents, in the Precincts (unprompted - multi-response) .............................. 32

Table 14. Attitudes to wind power, by Precinct and regional control area ....................... 34

Table 15. Attitudes to wind farms in local region, by Precinct and regional control area...... 36

Table 16. Impact of wind farms on property values, visual appeal and noise, by Precinctand regional control area ...................................................................... 37

Table 17. Overall support for wind farms in the Precincts, by gender, age and area ofresidence, in the Renewable Energy Precincts............................................. 43

Table 18. Relationship between support for wind farms 1-2 km from residence andvisibility of an existing or planned wind farm from residence, across thePrecincts .......................................................................................... 44

Table 19. Perceived benefits of wind farms by level of support/opposition to wind farms1-2 km from residents, in the Renewable Energy Precincts (unprompted multi-response ........................................................................................... 45

Table 20.

Perceived concerns about wind farms, by level of support/opposition to windfarms 1-2 km from residents, in the Renewable Energy Precincts (unprompted multi-response) .................................................................................. 46

Table 21. Segmentation of strong supporters and opposers in the Precincts ..................... 50

Table 22. Age profile of segments in the Precincts .................................................... 50

Table 23. Attitudinal dimensions for residents in the Precincts..................................... 53

Table 24. Summary of the attitudes/perceptions in each precinct of greater importancein driving support and which are less favourably rated................................... 55


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Table 25. Ratings of local region as a business manager, by business groupings ................. 65

Table 26. Spontaneous awareness of clean energy sources, by business groupings.............. 66

Table 27. Perception of power sources as acceptable, by business groupings.................... 66

Table 28. General awareness of wind farms, by business groupings ................................ 67

Table 29. Source of information about wind farms, by business groupings (unprompted multi-response) .................................................................................. 68

Table 30. Consultation about potential wind farms and further information, by businessgroupings .......................................................................................... 69

Table 31. Information needs, by non-farming and farming industry groups (unprompted multi-response) .................................................................................. 70

Table 32. Attitudes to wind power, by business groupings ........................................... 72

Table 33. Attitudes to wind farms in the region, by business groupings ........................... 74

Table 34. Impact of wind farms on business, property value visual appeal and noise, bybusiness groupings ............................................................................... 75

Table 35. Overall support for wind farms, by business groupings ................................... 77

Table 36. Consideration of investment in wind farms and use of green energy, by non-farming businesses............................................................................... 78

Table 37. Approach or consideration on property, by farming businesses......................... 78

Table 38. Benefits of wind farms to business, by support/opposition to wind farms beingbuilt 1-2 km from the business (unprompted multi-response) ......................... 79

Table 39. Concerns about wind farms to businesses, by support/opposition to a wind farmbeing built 1-2 km from business (unprompted multi-response) ...................... 80

Table 40. Population distributions of residential survey by gender and age within Precinct .101

Table 41. Population distributions of residential survey by gender and education within

Precinct...........................................................................................101

Table 42. Weighting of residential survey within the six Precincts ................................101

Table 43. Survey weights applied in the residential survey shown by gender and agewithin Precinct (before weighting by area)................................................102

Table 44. Weighting of business survey by industry to approximate distribution across thePrecincts .........................................................................................102

List of Figures

Figure 1. Global Cumulative installed capacity 1996-2008........................................... 11

Figure 2. Renewable Energy Precincts and location of approved and planned wind farms .... 12

Figure 3. Amount of time lived in area, by age group ................................................ 17

Figure 4. Amount of time lived in area, by Precincts and regional control area................. 20

Figure 5. Ratings of aspects of local region, in the Renewable Energy Precincts................ 21

Figure 6. Knowledge about wind farms, by Precincts and regional control area................. 27


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Figure 7. Knowledge about wind farms, by gender, age and area of residence, in theRenewable Energy Precincts ................................................................... 28

Figure 8. Perception of consultation about wind farms and adequacy of information inthe Precincts, by awareness in region and distance to nearestoperating/planned wind farm ................................................................. 31

Figure 9. Attitudes to wind power in the Renewable Energy Precincts............................ 33

Figure 10. Attitudes to wind farms in local region, in the Renewable Energy Precincts ......... 35

Figure 11. Overall support for wind farms, in the Renewable Energy Precincts................... 38

Figure 12. Support for wind farms in NSW, by Precincts and regional control area .............. 39

Figure 13. Support for wind farms in local region, by Precincts and regional control area ..... 40

Figure 14. Support for wind farms 10 km from the residence, by Precincts and regionalcontrol area....................................................................................... 41

Figure 15. Support for wind farms 1-2 km from the residence, by Precincts and regionalcontrol area....................................................................................... 42

Figure 16. Support for wind farms 1-2 km from residence, by awareness in region and

distance to nearest operating/planned wind farm, in the Renewable EnergyPrecincts .......................................................................................... 44

Figure 17. Positive ratings of questions on wind power, by segments across the Precincts ..... 51

Figure 18. Positive ratings of attitudes to wind farms, by segments across the Precincts ...... 52

Figure 19. Attitudinal and demographic drivers of support for wind farms across the sixPrecincts, showing the strength of relationship*........................................... 54

Figure 20. Driving support for wind farms in New England Tablelands: showing strength ofimportance of attitudes/perceptions and how favourably they were rated .......... 58

Figure 21. Driving support for wind farms in Upper Hunter: showing strength ofimportance of attitudes/perceptions and how favourably they were rated .......... 59

Figure 22.

Driving support for wind farms in Central Tablelands: showing strength ofimportance of attitudes/perceptions and how favourably they were rated .......... 60

Figure 23. Driving support for wind farms in NSW/ACT Border Region: showing strength ofimportance of attitudes/perceptions and how favourably they were rated .......... 61

Figure 24. Driving support for wind farms in South Coast: showing strength of importanceof attitudes/perceptions and how favourably they were rated......................... 62

Figure 25. Driving support for wind farms in Cooma-Monaro: showing strength ofimportance of attitudes/perceptions and how favourably they were rated .......... 63

Figure 26. Perceptions of local region as a business manager, by businesses...................... 64

Figure 27. Attitudes to wind power, by businesses ..................................................... 71

Figure 28.

Attitudes to wind farms in local region, by businesses ................................... 73

Figure 29. Overall support for wind farms, by businesses ............................................. 76

Figure 30. Drivers of support for wind farms, showing strength of importance andfavourable rating of each measure*, by businesses ....................................... 82


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2010 AMR Interactive 7

1.0 Executive summary

Introduction

As part of its approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the NSW Government has establishedemissions reduction programs in a range of sectors. As outlined in the NSW State Plan, it has settargets to achieve 20% renewable energy consumption by 2020.

Six Renewable Energy Precincts have been established across NSW in areas with the best-knownwind resources: New England Tablelands, Upper Hunter, Central Tablelands, NSW/ACT BorderRegion, South Coast and Cooma-Monaro. The Renewable Energy Precincts aim to prioritise and focusthe delivery of the renewable energy projects.

NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water commissioned AMR Interactive toundertake a study of the attitude of communities to wind farms and renewable energy across the sixRenewable Energy Precincts.

The key objectives of the research were to:

1. Establish a baseline on community attitudes towards wind farms and renewable energy forpurposes of evaluation; and

2. Provide results to inform the work of the Renewable Energy Precincts coordinators andadvisory committees, and community debates.

The research surveyed 2022 residents aged 18 years or older across the six Renewable EnergyPrecincts and a control area in regional NSW. It also covered 300 businesses across the six precincts.The research was undertaken via telephone interviews over May and June 2010.

Key findings

Familiarity with wind power

Wind power was well established top-of-mind, with over half (59%) of residents of the Precinctsnaming it spontaneously as a clean energy source, second only to solar power. Residents were farless likely to be familiar with other clean energy sources such as water, gas and bioenergy,mentioned by less than a quarter (18%) of residents.

Wind power was also widely regarded as acceptable for power generation by over three quarters(81%) of the population, when residents were asked specifically. This was second only to solar powerwhich was almost universally accepted (95%).

The high level of familiarity is also demonstrated by the fact that almost everyone (97%) in thePrecincts, and the rest of regional NSW, had heard about wind farms or wind turbines to generateelectricity, and over three quarters (81%) had seen a wind farm or wind turbine (which could be inperson or in the media). A majority (68%) of residents of the Precincts reported they knew aboutwind farms currently operating in NSW. Awareness was much higher in NSW/ACT Border Region

(95%), Central Tablelands (90%) and Cooma-Monaro (85%). By contrast, residents of New EnglandTablelands (38%) were the least likely to report awareness.

While awareness of wind farms being planned or under construction was limited to less than a third(28%) of residents of the Precincts overall, residents of Upper Hunter (54%), Cooma-Monaro (53%)and NSW/ACT Border Region (47%) were relatively more likely to be aware of planned wind farms.

It is worth noting that a majority of residents expressed interest in finding out more about aspectsof wind farms. The most common issues mentioned were around noise, location of wind farms,impact on the environment and community and effectiveness of power generation.


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A third (33%) of residents of the Precincts were aware of the NSW Governments initiative forsetting up Renewable Energy Precincts, although few overall (16%) considered that there had beenadequate consultation. Awareness of the Governments initiative was higher among residents whowere aware of a wind farm operating or planned in their local region, especially if it was 5kilometres (50%) away. A perception of adequate consultation also increased with greater awarenessand closer proximity. A majority (60%) of residents aware of a wind farm operating or plannedwithin 20 kilometres said that there had been adequate engagement.

Perceptions about wind power and its benefits and impacts

Residents widely acknowledged that wind power has lower greenhouse gas emissions than coal orgas and that NSW is well positioned with resources. There was, however, less understanding orgreater uncertainty about efficiency and reliability of wind power, and about whether wind powerwas the cheapest renewable energy source.

There was also broad acknowledgement that wind farms would benefit the local community and canboost employment and the economy. Consistent with this, there was broad endorsement of morewind farms being built in the local region and of more active involvement of the local councils toencourage wind farms. Only about a third (32%) of residents, however, believed that wind farmswould contribute to an increase in tourism.

About two thirds (69%) of residents did not perceive any health concerns, while on the issue ofsafety concerns opinion was more polarised. Residents were also divided in their views on impactsof wind farms on both property values and visual appeal of the area, and on concern about noise.Furthermore, the majority (62%) of residents did not perceive a negative impact on theenvironment, while opinion was divided on the issue of heritage values.

Level of support for wind farms

The large majority of residents across the Precincts indicated they would support wind farms beingbuilt both in NSW (85%) as well as in their local region (80%). The majority of residents of thePrecincts were supportive of wind farms being built in the vicinity of their residence. Over threequarters (79%) supported wind farms being built 10 kilometres from their residence, and more thanhalf (60%) supported them at 1-2 kilometres. Overall support at 1-2 kilometres tended to be lower intwo of the Precincts: New England Tablelands (54%) and Upper Hunter (44%).

85

80

79

60

0 20 40 60 80 100

In NSW

In local region

10 km from residence

1-2 km from residence

% of residents

Total Support

Residents opposing wind farms being built 1-2 kilometres from their residence were much morelikely than supporters to identify concerns about noise and the impact on the landscape, and muchless likely to identify benefits of wind farms such as reducing pollution, and improving thecommunity and economy. Notably, over two thirds (68%) of residents opposing wind farms at 1-2kilometres still saw an overall benefit of wind farms to the local region.


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What drives support for or opposition to wind farms 1-2 km from place of residence?

The relationship between the level of support/opposition for wind farms 1-2 kilometres from placeof residence and a range of attitudinal, perceptual, demographic and geographic measures capturedin the study was analysed. It was found that the most important drivers of support for wind farmswere attitudinal:

attitudes towards the economic and community benefits of wind farms;

the perceived visualandnoise impacts;

other concerns about health, safetyandheritage values; and

perceptions of wind powerrelating to clean energy and its potential in NSW.

Proximity to wind farms was also found to be of some importance, while demographiccharacteristics such as Precinct, gender and age had relatively low influence on level of support.

Key attitudes driving support were benefit to the local communityand concerns about noise.

Segmentation of supporters and opposers

Residents in the Precincts were segmented into three groups based on their support or opposition towind farms (a) in NSW and (b) 1-2 kilometres from their residence.

1. Strong Supporters (60%), supporting wind farms both in NSW and at 1-2 kilometres, weremore likely than the NSW-Only Supporters to see wind power as a feasible source of energy,and efficient/reliable. The Strong Supporters were more positive than the NSW-OnlySupporters on all impacts and benefits of wind farms asked in the survey.

2. NSW-Only Supporters (27%),supporting wind farms in NSW but not at 1-2 kilometres ratedmoderately lower than the Strong Supporters on most attitude and perceptions. Thestrongest difference was in potential concern about noise, and this was the only feature onwhich the NSW-Only Supporters were as negative as the Opposers. There was little differencebetween the segments on awareness of wind power as a clean energy source and knowledge

of wind farms.

3. Opposers (13%), not supporting wind farms either in NSW or at 1-2 kilometres, were verymuch less likely to consider wind power as an acceptable energy source, doubting itsefficiency/reliability and much less accepting of the resources in NSW. The Opposers werealso very much less positive about all the potential impacts and benefits of wind farms.

The segments also differed in their age profiles, most noticeable in a decrease in the incidence ofthose aged 65 years and over as support increased. About a third (32%) of Opposers were aged 65years and over compared with less than a fifth (17%) of Strong Supporters. There was acorresponding increase in the incidence of those aged 18-29 years as support increased.

Businesses in the Renewable Energy Precincts

Businesses in the six Renewable Energy Precincts showed high levels of awareness and familiarity,and a positive outlook to wind power. These were very similar to the findings among residents.

Attitudes to wind power were also consistent with those seen among residents, except thatbusinesses were less likely to regard wind power as cheaper and less likely to believe wind farmswould boost employment in the local economy.

Among non-farming businesses, about a third (30%) anticipated positive effects on their business,while more than half (61%) believed there would be no impact. Few (8%) considered that therecould be a negative impact or were undecided. Opinion was divided on visual impact of wind farms,impact on property values and concerns about noise. Farming businesses were more likely to


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spontaneously express concern about the location of wind farms, and were more concerned aboutnoise (58% having at least some concern compared with 35% of non-farming businesses).Nevertheless, over half (57%) of farming businesses would consider wind farms on their property.

The level of support for wind farms in the state, in the local region, 10 kilometres and 1-3Kilometres from the business was widespread, and similar to that shown by residents.

88

83

82

60

0 20 40 60 80 100

In NSW

In local region



% of residents

Total Support

The strongest drivers of support for wind farms 1-2 kilometres from their business were found to besimilar to those seen among residents, with noise concerns and benefit to the local communityprominent.

Conclusion

The research indicates that there was substantial support and backing for wind farms in the state, inthe local region and even up to 10 kilometres from the place of residence. Support reduced when

considering wind farms closer to home, although a majority (60%) still supported wind farms at adistance of 1-2 kilometres from their residence.

While overall acceptability of wind power was high, a significant number of residents of thePrecincts (30-40%) had concerns about noise, negative visual impact, negative impact on propertyprices, safety concerns and heritage values. In addition, proximity to a wind farm reduced the levelof support.


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that is expected to accompany this. Initially it is expected that most of the renewable energy supplywill be met by wind energy developments.

As part of the reforms introduced to attract new investment in renewable energy:

1. Projects with the capacity of 30 megawatts or more will be deemed 'critical infrastructure'and will benefit from waived development application fees until 30 June 2011, and a

commitment to manage planning approvals within four months. Dedicated renewable energystaff will also be put in place to help drive regional initiatives.

2. Six Renewable Energy Precincts have been established across NSW in areas with the best-known wind resources: New England Tablelands, Upper Hunter, Central Tablelands,NSW/ACT Border Region, South Coast and Cooma-Monaro (Figure 2).

In all, 11 wind farms with a total of 972 turbines have been approved in NSW since June 2005.

Figure 2. Renewable Energy Precincts and location of approved and planned wind farms


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2.2 Research objectives

The NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water commissioned AMR Interactive toundertake a study of the attitude of communities to wind farms and renewable energy across the sixRenewable Energy Precincts.

The key objectives of the research project were to:

1. Establish a baseline on community attitudes towards wind farms and renewable energy forpurposes of evaluation; and

2. Provide results to inform the work of the Renewable Energy Precincts coordinators andadvisory committees, and community debates.

These in turn would be used to evaluate the impact of the Renewable Energy Precincts initiativeand inform the work of the Renewable Energy Precincts coordinators and advisory committees, andcommunity debates. In assessing community attitudes, the research set out to cover:

perceptions and preferences towards renewable energy and wind farms;

awareness of currently operating or proposed wind farms in the residents; area; and

attitudes about wind power including the impacts, advantages and disadvantages.

The research also aimed at identifying the relationship between key variables and overallacceptance of wind energy including:

demographics (e.g., age and gender);

proximity to proposed or currently operating wind farms, and

type of area (e.g., township, rural residential or farming).


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3.0 Method

3.1 Residential survey

Precincts and respondents

The survey covered the six Renewable Energy Precincts, along with an additional control areacovering other regional areas of NSW (other than Broken Hill, where a wind farm is currentlyoperating). The Local Government Areas in each Precinct are listed in Table 1. Postcodes wereassigned to each Precinct on the basis that 85+% of the population in that postcode fell into thePrecinct, based on concordance information published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics from2006 census data.5 Households were sampled from a database of household telephone numbers.6 Aminimum sample size of 286 respondents aged 18 years and over was set for each of the Precinctsand the control area, and the final total survey sample size was 2022. Equal sample sizes were set inthe Precincts to enable the same level of precision in the analysis of each.

Table 1. Local Government Areas in the Renewable Energy Precincts

Precinct Local Government AreasShare of Population

in the PrecinctsP1 New England

TablelandsArmidaleDumaresq

Glen Innes Severn

Gunnedah

Guyra

Gwydir

Inverell

Liverpool PlainsMoree Plains

Narrabri

Tamworth

Tenterfield

Uralla

Walcha

24%

P2 Upper Hunter Upper Hunter

Dungog

Warrumbungle 4%

P3 CentralTablelands

Bathurst

Blayney

Cabonne

CowraLithgow

Mid-WesternRegional

Oberon

OrangeWellington

22%

P4 NSW/ACTBorder Region

Boorowa

Cootamundra

GoulburnMulwaree

Gundagai

Harden

Junee

Palerang

Tumut

Upper Lachlan

Weddin

Yass Valley

Young

15%

P5 South Coast Bega Valley

Eurobodalla

Kiama

Shoalhaven

Shellharbour

32%

P6 Cooma-Monaro BombalaCooma-Monaro Snowy RiverTumbarumba 3%

5 2905.0.55.001 ABS Postal Area Concordances, Aug 20066 The database is managed by Sample Pages (recommended by the Australian Market and Social Research

organisation (AMSRO))


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Questionnaire

The questionnaire for the survey was designed to cover a range of issues on awareness, knowledgeand attitudes regarding wind power and wind farms. A draft of the questionnaire was pre-testedwith 10 participants from the Precincts. The interviews involved a researcher administering thequestionnaire individually to a participant, then probing the participant on a number of issues aboutthe meaning and structure of questions.

The final questionnaire covered:

demographic profile of respondents;

ratings of the local area;

awareness of renewable energy and acceptability of different power sources;

general awareness and knowledge regarding wind farms and sources of information;

attitudes to wind power and wind farms in NSW;

attitudes to wind farms in the local region;

perceived positive and negative impacts of wind farms; and

the perceived adequacy of consultation and information about wind farms, and areasin which information would like to be received.

A copy of the questionnaire is included in Appendix A.

Implementation and analysis

The survey was administered by telephone during May-June 2010. Households in each area wererandomly selected and an adult in each household was selected systematically for surveying. Duringthe survey, age and gender quotas were set in each Precinct to ensure a sufficient spread of age

groups in the sample for weighting and analysis. The distribution of in town/out of town householdsin each Precinct was based on the distribution of telephone numbers.

The sample in each Precinct and the control area was weighted to ABS 2006 census data by gender,age, and level of education (degree and no degree) (see Appendix B). Each Precinct was weighted tothe overall population distribution across the Precincts, in order to report overall results.

In general, results are reported for the following groupings:

the overall population across the six Precincts;

the regional control area; and

individually for the six Precincts.

In addition, the results were assessed by demographic groupings:

gender;

age group (18-29 years, 30-44 years, 45-64 year, 65+ years); and

type of residence (in town, out of town: residential property or farming property).


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Presentation of results

Results are shown as percentages. An example of a table of results is shown in Table 2. The tableshows the percentage of residents agreeing with the statement. Results are shown weighted acrossthe six Renewable Energy Precincts and for the Regional Control Area, followed by the results foreach of the six individual Precincts. As an example, New England Tablelands, 4% strongly agreeand 27% agree. The total agree is also shown, adding the two levels of agreement. When adding

two or more percentages in this way, there may be a rounding difference of1%. That is, the totalmay differ by 1% from the straight sum of the individual percentages. Where the full results for aquestion are shown, as in the example in Figure 3, the whole set may add up to 99% or 101%.

The unweighted number of respondents (n=###) in each Precinct/area answering the question isshown for reference. Results in charts show the percentage distribution horizontally in the bars.

Chi-squared tests of statistical significance have been used to explore differences betweenPrecincts, and demographic groups for each question. A statistically significant result means thatthere are differences in the results between the groups being compared (e.g., between thePrecincts, between males and females), so at least one of the groups can be considered as differingfrom the others. These differences are illustrated:

in tables, by highlighting groups which have higher results and lower agreementcompared to the other groups. So in Table 2 Central Tablelands and NSW/ACT BorderRegion have higher agreement, while Upper Hunter has higher disagreement; and

in charts, using arrows to highlight groups which have higher () results and lower() results compared to the other groups. So in Figure 3 18-29 year olds have beenhighlighted as having lower knowledge, and 45-64 and 65+ year olds as having higherknowledge.

Information about these tests, as well as other analyses conducted, are included in Appendix C.

Table 2. Example of table: Level of agreement that wind farms help increase tourism, byPrecincts and regional control area

Wind farms willhelp increasetourism

Renewable

EnergyPrecincts(n=1729)

Regional

ControlArea

(n=293)

New

EnglandTablelands

(n=289)

UpperHunter(n=286)

CentralTablelands

(n=290)

NSW/ACT

BorderRegion(n=287)

SouthCoast

(n=291)

Cooma-Monaro(n=286)

% % % % % % % %

Agree 32 32 31 24 40 37 27 32

Disagree 55 56 55 63 49 50 60 59

Dont know 13 12 14 13 11 12 13 10

Base: All respondentsStatistically significant difference between groups: highlighting higher and lower agreementQ20. Please tell me to what extent you agree or disagree with each statement


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Figure 3. Amount of time lived in area, by age group

6

14

17

16

37

42

46

41

45

38

34

33

9

5

2

8

3

1

1

3

0 20 40 60 80 100

18-29 (n=195)

30-44 (n=408)

45-64 (n=717)

65+ (n=409)

% of re sidents

A lot Moderate amount A little Only heard term Not heard

Base: Respondents in PrecinctsStatistically significant difference between groups: highlighting higher=, lower=knowledgeQ11. Before this survey, how much did you know about wind farms?

3.2 Business survey

Respondents

The survey of the general community was supplemented by a survey of 300 businesses employingstaff across the six Precincts. The distribution of businesses was consistent with the population ofbusinesses across the Precincts.

The Agriculture industry makes up over a quarter (28%) of employing businesses across thePrecincts.7 Farming is a distinct type of business for the topic of wind farms, as the wind farms areoften placed on farming properties. Given this relationship, and the relatively large number offarming managers covered in the general residential survey, it was decided to focus on non-farmingbusinesses in the supplementary survey of businesses. The results for the farming business from the

community survey were then included in the analysis. Businesses were sampled from lists of businessin the postcodes in the relevant Local Government Areas.

Questionnaire

The questionnaire for the businesses was based primarily on the questionnaire for the residentialsurvey. Some additional questions were included on green energy, and perceived impact of windfarms on the business. A copy of the questionnaire is included in Appendix A.

Implementation and analysis

The survey was administered by telephone during May-June 2010. Quotas were set to ensure areasonable profile of businesses by industry. The final sample was weighted by industry based on

Australian Bureau of Statistics business statistics for the Precinct areas.

7

(See Appendix C for detailsof the weighting.) The industries were grouped for analysis purposes, building to a sample size of atleast 50 in each group (Table 3). The order of groupings presented in Table 3 appears in each tableof results for the survey. Issues about presentation of results discussed for the residential surveyalso apply, including presentation of percentages, rounding of results, and tests of statisticalsignificance (refer to Appendix B for more details on the analysis).

7 8165.0 - Counts of Australian Businesses

Age

Group

(yea

rs)


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Comparisons have been made between the non-farming and farming sectors; and among the industrygroupings. The same approach to highlighting differences in tables and charts as was described forthe residential survey on pages 16-17 has been used for the business survey.

Table 3. Sampling of industries and groupings for analysis

Industry Grouping Industries Survey

Sample

Weighted

DistributionTotal Businesses 419 100%

Non-Farming Sector 289 75%

Industrial, Manufacturing, Transport Mining

Agriculture (non-farming)

Manufacturing

Construction

Transport and Storage

79 26%

Retail, Wholesale Wholesale Trade

Retail Trade

75 18%

Business Services Communication Services

Finance and Insurance

Property and Business Services

57 15%

Community, Personal, Hospitality Accommodation Cafes and Restaurants

Education

Health and Community Services

Cultural and Recreational Services

Personal and Other Services

78 16%

FarmingSector (primarily from the residential survey) 130 25%


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4.0 Results Residential survey

4.1 Demographic profile

Residence and tenure in the local area

Residents were asked about whether they lived in or out of town, and how long they hadresided in the area

The majority of residents of each of the Precincts reported living in town (64%), with a third (36%)living out of town (Table 4). Overall, less than a quarter (21%) lived out of town on residentialproperties, and farming properties (15%). The profile of residents of the control area was verysimilar. The profile for the South Coast differed most with nearly half (46%) of residents reportingliving out of town. Residents of the South Coast were the most likely to live on a residentialproperty (39%) and the least likely to live on a farming property (7%). A quarter of residents ofCooma-Monaro (27%) and Upper Hunter (25%) lived on a farming property.

The majority of residents of the Precincts had lived in the local area for over 10 years (63%) (Figure4). Residents of Cooma-Monaro were the most likely to have lived longest (74% over 10 years), whileresidents of NSW/ACT Border Region and of South Coast were less likely to be longer term residents(59% over 10 years).

Table 4. Residency, location and size, by Precincts and regional control area

Residence

RenewableEnergy

Precincts(n=1729)

RegionalControlArea

(n=293)

NewEngland

Tablelands(n=289)

UpperHunter(n=286)

CentralTablelands

(n=290)

NSW/ACTBorderRegion(n=287)

SouthCoast

(n=291)

Cooma-Monaro(n=286)

% % % % % % % %

In town 64 67 70 64 67 71 54 63

Out of town -residential

21 22 11 11 17 11 39 10

Out of town -

farming 15 10 20 25 15 17 7 27

Base: All respondentsStatistically significant difference between groups: highlighting higher and lower resultsQ3. Do you live in or out of town? Q3b. Is it a residential or farming property?


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Figure 4. Amount of time lived in area, by Precincts and regional control area

6

5

4

4

5

7

8

4

15

17

17

14

19

13

11

10

17

22

13

14

12

21

22

12

21

20

19

21

24

16

23

22

42

37

48

47

41

43

36

52

0 20 40 60 80 100

Renewable Energy Prec incts (n=1729)

Regional Control Area (n=293)

New England Tablelands (n=289)

Upper Hunter (n=286)

Central Tablelands (n=290)

NSW/ACT Border Region (n=287)

South Coast (n=291)

Cooma-Monaro (n=286)

% of residents

Less than 2 years 2 to 5 years A little 11 to 20 years More than 20 years

Base: All respondentsQ4. How long have you lived in the area?Statistically significant difference between groups: highlighting higher=, lower=period

Precincts


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Perceptions of the local region

Residents were asked to rate how well their local region performs on a number of socio-economic issues

Residents perceptions of their local region on a number of socio-economic issues are summarised in

Figure 5. The best rated issues were the overall standard of living and the local environment. Thesewere rated as good or excellent by the majority of residents in each Precinct (Table 5).

Access to services such as health and education, and the overall health of the local economy, wererated good or excellent by close to half of residents of each Precinct.

Local regions were rated least favourably on employment opportunities, with less than a quarter(22%) overall perceiving their local region as excellent or good. Residents of Central Tablelandshowever, were more likely than residents of the other Precincts to see overall health of the localeconomy (54%) employment opportunities (37%) and as at least good. Residents of South Coast werethe least likely to rate overall health of the local economy (31%) employment opportunities (11%) asgood.

Figure 5. Ratings of aspects of local region, in the Renewable Energy Precincts

14

13

11

6

4

48

50

35

36

18

30

31

32

38

29

4

5

16

15

32

1

1

4

2

13

3

1

1

4

5

0 20 40 60 80 100

Local environment

The overall standard of living

Access to services such as health and education

The overall health of the local economy

Employment opportunities

% of residents

Excellent Good Average Poor Very poor Don't know

Base: Respondents in Precincts

Q6. How would you rate your region on these issues?


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Table 5. Ratings of aspects of local region, by Precincts and regional control area

REGIONAL NSW PRECINCT

Local region

RenewableEnergy

Precincts(n=1729)

RegionalControl

Area(n=293)

New EnglandTablelands

(n=289)

UpperHunter(n=286)

CentralTablelands

(n=290)


SouthCoast

(n=291)

Cooma-Monaro(n=286)

% % % % % % % %

The overall standard of living

Excellent/Good 63 61 62 58 72 63 59 57

Average/Poor 37 38 37 41 27 38 41 42

Dont know 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1

Local environment

Excellent/Good 62 59 62 64 59 61 62 59

Average/Poor 36 40 36 33 38 37 34 40

Dont know 3 1 2 3 3 2 4 2

Access to services such as health and education

Excellent/Good 46 45 47 41 54 50 40 41Average/Poor 53 54 52 58 45 50 58 57

Dont know 1 2 2 0 0 0 2 1

The overall health of the local economy

Excellent/Good 41 35 46 39 54 40 31 37

Average/Poor 55 61 51 56 43 58 65 59

Dont know 4 4 3 6 3 2 4 5

Employment opportunities

Excellent/Good 22 21 27 19 37 22 11 20

Average/Poor 73 73 69 77 59 75 84 75

Dont know 5 6 3 4 5 3 6 5

Base: All respondentsStatistically significant difference between groups: highlighting higher and lower positive ratingsQ6. How would you rate your region on these issues?


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4.2 Renewable energy

Spontaneous awareness of clean energy sources

Residents were asked to mention, unprompted, the clean energy sources they wereaware of.

Solar power was spontaneously mentioned as a clean energy source by three quarters (74%) ofresidents across the Precincts (Table 6). Wind power was the next most mentioned, by over half(59%) of residents. Both of these forms of alternative energy were by far the most well known,compared to other forms of alternative energy that were mentioned.

In contrast, other clean energy sources were mentioned by no more than a quarter of residents:water/hydroelectric (18%), gas (14%), wave/tidal (12%), nuclear (10%), geothermal (8%), clean coal(6%) and bio-energy/bio-electric (5%). Even fewer (16%) were unable to name any clean energysources spontaneously.

Wind power as a clean source of energy was more likely to be mentioned spontaneously by residentsof Cooma-Monaro (70%) and Central Tablelands (68%). Residents of New England Tablelands (48%)were least likely to mention wind power (Table 6). In contrast, residents of Cooma-Monaro were the

most likely to refer to water/hydroelectric power (34% compared with 15-22% in the otherPrecincts), which would be influenced by familiarity with the Snowy Mountains hydroelectricscheme.

Spontaneous awareness of wind power was much higher among those residing on farming properties(70%) compared with those living in town (57%) or out of town on residential properties (57%) (Table7). Males were more likely than females to identify a number of types of clean energy, includingboth solar power (81% compared with 67%) and wind power (70% compared with 48%). Spontaneousawareness of wind power was highest among residents aged 30-44 years old (66%) and 45-64 years(66%) and lowest among those aged 65 years and older (43%).

Table 6. Spontaneous awareness of clean energy sources, by Precincts and regional control area

REGIONAL NSW PRECINCTS

Energy source

RenewableEnergy

Precincts(n=1729)

RegionalControl

Area(n=293)

NewEngland

Tablelands(n=289)

UpperHunter(n=286)

CentralTablelands

(n=290)


SouthCoast

(n=291)

Cooma-Monaro(n=286)

% % % % % % % %

Sun or solar 74 77 74 73 76 75 71 77

Wind 59 57 48 67 68 63 56 70

Water orhydroelectric

18 22 15 15 22 19 17 34

Gas 14 21 17 15 14 15 12 13

Wave or tidalpower

12 9 8 9 9 12 19 12

Nuclear 10 10 10 7 14 10 8 7

Geothermal 8 8 8 8 10 9 6 12

Clean coal 6 9 5 8 9 6 6 7

Bioenergy/bioelectric

5 2 3 3 4 4 6 4

Other 4 5 3 4 4 4 4 6

Don't know 16 12 18 13 13 13 19 8

Base: All respondentsStatistically significant difference between groups: highlighting higher and lower responsesQ7. Which clean energy sources are you aware of (unprompted)?


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Table 7. Spontaneous awareness of clean energy sources in Precincts, by gender and age

GENDER AGE GROUP RESIDENCE

Energysource

Male(n=849)

Female(n=880)

18-29(n=195)

30-44(n=408)

45-64(n=717)

65+(n=409)

In town

(n=1097)

Out -residential

(n=296)

Out-farming(n=336)

% % % % % % % % %Sun or solar 81 67 70 77 79 65 72 75 81

Wind 70 48 52 66 66 43 57 57 70


23 14 27 18 17 15 18 18 19

Wave ortidal

18 7 9 12 15 11 14 16 14

Nuclear 14 6 8 8 11 11 12 13 14

Gas 13 16 14 12 14 18 9 10 12

Geothermal 11 5 6 9 11 5 7 9 14

Clean coal 8 4 4 7 7 7 6 7 7

Bioenergy/

bioelectric 6 4 6 4 5 3 4 6 6

Other 5 3 1 5 4 4 3 4 6

Don't know 9 22 22 13 12 22 17 16 10

Base: Respondents in PrecinctsStatistically significant difference between groups: highlighting higher and lower responsesQ7. Which clean energy sources are you aware of (unprompted)?

Acceptable power sources

Residents were asked which of a given list of power sources were acceptable to them ifa new power station was to be built in their local region.

Solar power was an almost universally acceptable power source (95%) for a new power station

(Table 8). Wind power was the next most acceptable source, by over three quarters (81%) ofresidents overall.

A majority of residents were also accepting of water/hydroelectric (75%) and gas (69%) as powersources. Conventional coal and nuclear power were considered least acceptable, and no more thana third of residents would assent to a power station in their local region based on these (33% and24% respectively).

There was little difference in acceptability of wind power between the Precincts, and no differencebetween the Precincts overall and the regional control area (Table 8). Residents of Cooma-Monarowere the most likely to find water/hydroelectric power an acceptable source. While conventionalcoal power stations were only acceptable to a third of residents, those in NSW/ACT Border Region(22%) and Cooma-Monaro (21%) were least likely to accept this source.

Wind power was equally well accepted by males and females in the Precincts, with acceptancetending to be lowest among residents aged 65 years and over (72%) (Table 9). Males, however, weremore likely than females to find as acceptable conventional coal (37% compared with 28%) andnuclear power (35% compared with 12%). Acceptance of nuclear power increased with age (from 11%of residents aged 18-29 years to 34% of residents aged 65 years and over).


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Table 8. Acceptable power sources for proposed power station, by Precincts and regional controlarea


Energy source

RenewableEnergy

Precincts(n=1729)

RegionalControl

Area(n=293)

NewEngland

Tablelands(n=289)

Upper

Hunter(n=286)

Central

Tablelands(n=290)

NSW/ACTBorder

Region(n=287)

South

Coast(n=291)

Cooma-

Monaro(n=286)

% % % % % % % %

Solar 95 96 94 96 93 96 96 94

Wind 81 81 76 79 84 87 79 81


75 79 71 71 73 76 78 89

Gas 69 74 72 73 69 74 65 65

Conventional

coal33 27 42 41 37 22 27 21

Nuclear 24 30 22 25 28 23 22 27

Base: All respondentsStatistically significant difference between groups: highlighting higher and lower responsesQ8. Which power sources would you consider to be acceptable?

Table 9. Acceptable power sources for proposed power station, by gender, age and area ofresidence

GENDER AGE GROUP

Energy sourceMale

(n=849)Female(n=880)

18-29(n=195)

30-44(n=408)

45-64(n=717)

65+(n=409)

% % % % % %

Solar 93 97 96 98 95 90

Wind 82 80 86 85 81 72


79 71 80 73 74 76

Gas 73 66 66 70 68 73

Conventionalcoal

37 28 34 29 31 37

Nuclear 35 12 11 19 27 34

Base: Respondents in Precincts

Statistically significant difference between groups: highlighting higher and lower responsesQ8. Which power sources would you consider to be acceptable?


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4.3 Awareness and knowledge of wind farms

General awareness

Residents were asked about their awareness of wind turbines/farms, including whetherthey had heard about them, had seen one, had been close enough to hear one operating,or were aware of farms currently operating or planned

There was almost universal awareness (97%) of wind farms in the Precincts with residents reportingthey had heard about the use of wind farms, wind turbines or wind mills to generate electricity.Residents of South Coast were significantly less likely to have heard about wind farms than residentsof other Precincts (Table 10).

Furthermore, over three quarters (81%) of residents reported they had seen a wind turbine or windmill. Residents of New England Tablelands (60%) and Upper Hunter (76%) were relatively less likelyto report having seen a wind turbine, in comparison with residents of other Precincts (85-95%).

Residents were also asked if they had been close enough to an operating wind turbine or wind farmto hear it operating. Overall, about a third (35%) of residents of the Precincts reported they hadbeen close enough to hear a wind turbine (Table 10). There was considerable variation across the

six Precincts; residents of Central Tablelands (45%) and NSW/ACT Border Region (45%) were themost likely to have been close enough to hear operation, followed by residents of South Coast (34%)and Cooma-Monaro (38%). By contrast, residents of New England Tablelands (21%) and Upper Hunter(32%) Precincts were least likely to have heard operation.

About two thirds (65%) of residents across the Precincts were aware of wind farms currentlyoperating in NSW. Residents of NSW/ACT Border Region (95%) were the most likely to be aware,while residents of New England Tablelands (37%) were the least likely (Table 10). Awareness ofcurrently operating and proposed/developing wind farms in NSW was significantly higher amongresidents of the six Precincts compared with residents of the regional control area, but thedifference for currently operating wind farms was driven by the very high awareness in some of thekey Precincts. Residents of Central Tablelands (22%) and South Coast (16%) were least likely to knowof any wind farms under construction (Table 10).

Table 10. General awareness of wind farms, by Precinct and regional control areaREGIONAL NSW PRECINCT

Awareness

RenewableEnergy

Precincts(n=1729)

RegionalControl

Area(n=293)

NewEngland

Tablelands(n=289)

UpperHunter(n=286)

CentralTablelands

(n=290)


SouthCoast

(n=291)

Cooma-Monaro(n=286)

% % % % % % % %

Heard aboutwind farms

97 98 96 99 99 100 95 99

Seen a windfarm/turbine

81 77 60 76 89 95 85 88

Been closeenough to hearoperating

35 33 21 32 45 45 34 38

Currentlyoperating 68 40 38 58 90 95 61 85

Planned/ underconstruction

28 12 29 54 22 47 16 53

Base: All respondentsStatistically significant difference between groups: highlighting higher and lower responsesQ9. Have you heard about the use of wind farms or wind turbines or windmills to generate electricity?Q10a. Have you seen an actual wind turbines or windmill to generate electricity?Q28. Have you been close enough to an operating wind turbine or wind farm to hear it?Q14a. Are you aware of any wind farms currently operating in NSW?Q15a. Are you aware of any wind farms in NSW under construction of being proposed?


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Overall knowledge

Residents were asked to self-report how much they knew about wind farms

Over half (56%) of the residents of the Precincts reported that they knew at least a moderateamount about wind farms (Figure 6). While there was no overall difference in reported knowledgebetween the Precincts and the regional control, there were some differences between the

Precincts. Around half of the residents of New England Tablelands (45%) and South Coast (52%)reported at least a moderate level of knowledge, compared with over two thirds of residents ofCentral Tablelands (68%) and Cooma-Monaro (71%).

There were a number of differences in reported knowledge of wind farms among the demographicgroups, although none were very strong (Figure 7). Males (64%) were somewhat more likely thanfemales (50%) to report having at least a moderate amount of knowledge about wind farms.Residents aged 18-29 years were the least likely to report knowing at least a moderate amount (43%compared with 56-63% for the other age groups). Residents living on farms (63%) were also the mostlikely to report this level of knowledge.

Figure 6. Knowledge about wind farms, by Precincts and regional control area

14

10

9

15

17

17

13

21

42

43

36

40

51

47

39

50

37

40

45

41

30

31

39

25

5

5

7

4

2

5

7

3

2

2

3

3

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

Renewable Energy Pr ecincts (n=1729)

Regional Control Area (n=293)



Central Tablelands (n=29 0)


South Coast (n=291)


% of residents


Base: All respondentsStatistically significant difference between Precincts: highlighting higher=, lower=knowledgeQ11. Before this survey, how much did you know about wind farms?

P

recincts


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Figure 7. Knowledge about wind farms, by gender, age and area of residence, in the RenewableEnergy Precincts

19

10

6

14

17

16

14

10

21

45

40

37

42

46

41

42

41

45

31

42

45

38

34

33

37

40

32

4

7

9

5

2

8

5

8

3

2

2

3

1

1

3

2

1

0 20 40 60 80 100

Male (n=849)

Female (n=880)

18-29 (n=195)

30-44 (n=408)

45-64 (n=717)

65+ (n=409)

In town (n=1097)

Out - residential (n=296)

Out - farming (n=334)

% of residents


Base: Respondents in PrecinctsStatistically significant difference between groups: highlighting higher=, lower=knowledgeQ11. Before this survey, how much did you know about wind farms?

Sources of information

Residents were asked to mention (unprompted) where they had heard or receivedinformation about wind farms

Half (48%) of all residents of the Precincts mentioned they had heard or received information aboutwind farms from television/radio (Table 11). Residents of New England Tablelands were more likelythan the other Precincts to use TV/Radio as a source of information (58%), while residents ofNSW/ACT Border Region were least likely to use this as a source of information (36%).

Local newspapers were quite influential in providing information about wind farms to residents ofUpper Hunter (41%), while residents of New England Tablelands (17%) and South Coast (20%) wereleast likely to receive information through this source.

A quarter (25%) of NSW/ACT Border Region residents received their information about wind farmsthrough word of mouth, which may reflect the operation of the wind farm near Goulburn. Thisresult may also be related to the fact that those living in NSW/ACT Border Region are less isolatedthan those in other Precincts. Very few residents reported receiving any information about windfarms from local or state governments.

Gender

Age

Residence


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Table 11. Source of information about wind farms, by Precincts and regional control area(unprompted multi-response)


Source

RenewableEnergy

Precincts(n=1729)

RegionalControl

Area(n=293)

NewEngland

Tablelands(n=289)

Upper

Hunter(n=286)

Central

Tablelands(n=290)

NSW/ACTBorder

Region(n=287)

South

Coast(n=291)

Cooma-

Monaro(n=286)

% % % % % % % %

News and media

Television or radio(news/current affairs)

48 59 58 46 45 36 48 47

Local newspapers 24 19 17 41 27 34 20 36

State/nationalnewspapers

18 20 17 16 19 15 19 17

Other media 2 1 1 1 3 0 3 1

Word of mouth and personal experience

Word of mouth 17 12 14 18 17 25 15 18

Seen/experiencedoperation 4 1 1 2 8 4 2 3

Interstate/overseas 1 3 2 1 1 1 2 2

Own research/studies 4 6 2 3 3 4 5 3

Groups

Local communitygroups or social clubs

4 2 3 6 5 5 3 7

Environment groups 2 1 2 3 3 2 2 4

Landscape Guardians 1 1 0 2 2 2 1 1

Local business groups 1 1 2 3 1 1 1 2

Government and companies

Wind farm developers 5 3 2 5 5 7 5 7

Energy companies 3 2 2 6 6 4 1 4

Local government 3 1 2 5 3 6 2 4

State Government 2 1 2 3 2 3 1 1

Other

Nowhere in particular 16 12 18 13 16 14 17 15

Heard nothing 3 1 3 0 3 2 4 2

Base: All respondentsStatistically significant difference between groups: highlighting higher and lower responsesQ29. From where have you heard or received any information about wind farms?


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Consultation and further information

Residents were asked about their engagement with wind power regarding awareness ofthe governments renewable energy initiative, whether they considered they had hadadequate consultation about wind farms, and whether they had adequate informationabout wind farms

A third (33%) of all residents surveyed had heard about Government initiatives regarding renewableenergy (Table 12). This was consistent across the Precincts between residents residing in and out oftown. Perceptions were quite polarized in terms of adequate consultation from community groupsregarding wind farms, and this brought down the overall rating for adequate consultation (16%).

Residents living in South Coast and New England Tablelands felt the least adequately consulted ofall the Precincts (only 9% and 13% respectively felt adequately consulted). In contrast, about a third(29-30%) of residents of Upper Hunter, NSW/ACT Border Region and Cooma-Monaro felt they wereadequately consulted by community groups.

About a third (34%) of residents felt they had adequate information regarding wind farms. Onceagain South Coast (9%) and New England Tablelands (13%) were significantly less likely to feel theyhad adequate information about wind farms of all Precincts.

Residents living out of town on a residential property were the least likely to feel they hadadequate information regarding wind farms (11%), compared with those living in-town (17%) or onfarming properties (20%). Among residents of farming properties, a small percentage (8%) reportedhaving been approached by a developer. This incidence tended to be higher in Upper Hunter (15%),NSW/ACT Border Region (12%) and Upper Hunter (11%).

Table 12. Perception of consultation about wind farms and adequacy of information, by Precinctsand regional control area


Information/consultation

RenewableEnergy

Precincts(n=1729)

RegionalControlArea

(n=293)

NewEngland

Tablelands(n=289)

UpperHunter(n=286)

CentralTablelands

(n=290)


SouthCoast

(n=291)

Cooma-Monaro(n=286)

% % % % % % % %

Heard ofrenewable energyinitiative

33 28 33 40 35 33 29 37

Adequateconsultation

16 11 13 30 18 29 9 29

Adequateinformation

34 27 29 35 41 41 29 39

(n=334) (n=31) (n=58) (n=73) (n=47) (n=60) (n=23) (n=73)

Approached by adeveloper *

8 0 4 15 11 12 6 8

Base: All respondents *Residents living on farming properties onlyStatistically significant difference between groups: highlighting higher and lower responses

Q30. Have you heard about the NSW government initiative for setting up Renewable Energy Precincts?Q33. Do you feel that there is adequate consultation about wind farms available in your local community?Q34a. Do you feel you have adequate information about wind farms?

Perceptions of adequacy of consultation and information were also assessed by overall awareness ofcurrently operating and planned wind farms in the local region, and proximity of residents to windfarms (Figure 8). The small number of residents within 5 kilometres of operating/planned windfarms were the most likely (50%) to have heard about the Government initiatives for renewableenergy, while those not aware of any operating/planned wind farms were the least likely (averaging32%). Perception of adequate consultation was also much lower among residents who were unawareof any wind farms (averaging 13%), and was broadly highest for residents within 50 kilometres of thelocation, although still a minority. It should be noted, however, that adequacy of consultation was


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much lower for the few residents up to 2 kilometres away from an existing wind farm. Similarly,perception of adequacy of information was lower among those not aware (averaging 28%),increasing with proximity from less than half (43%) when more than 50 kilometres away, up to closeto two thirds of those at 5 kilometres (61%) and 6-19 kilometres (58%).

Figure 8. Perception of consultation about wind farms and adequacy of information in thePrecincts, by awareness in region and distance to nearest operating/planned wind farm

50

39

38

39

35

25

0 20 40 60 80 100

Up to 5 km (n=42)

6-19 km (n=108)

20-49 km (n=238)

50+ km (n=295)

Aware in NSW only

(n=706)

Not aware in NSW

(n=340)

% of residents

Heard of renewable energy

initiative

AWARE OF WIND FARMS

OPERATING OR PLANNED

IN THE LOCAL REGION

NOT AWARE OF WIND FARMS OPERATING

OR PLANNED IN THE LOCAL REGION

Distanceto nearest operating/ planned wind farm

36

45

38

25

16

9

0 20 40 60 80 100% of residents

Adequate consultation

61

55

51

42

31

22

0 20 40 60 80 100% of residents

Adequate information

Base: Respondents in PrecinctsStatistically significant difference between groups: highlighting higher=, lower=responseQ30. Have you heard about the NSW government initiative for setting up Renewable Energy Precincts?Q33. Do you feel that there is adequate consultation about wind farms available in your local community?Q34a.Do you feel you have adequate information about wind farms?


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Further information

Residents were asked about what information they would like to find out about windfarms

The most common types of information needs were about effectiveness of power generation,

personal impacts (with particular focus on noise levels) and effects on the community (Table 13).

There were minimal variations between those that supported wind farms and those that opposedthem, and more than a third (41%) of residents across the six Precincts felt that they did not requireadditional information.

Table 13. Information needs, by level of support/opposition to wind farms 1-2 km from residents,in the Precincts (unprompted - multi-response)

Information*Total

(n=1729)%

Support(n=1053)

%

Oppose(n=589)

%

General information (e.g., brochures) 16 17 15

Personal Impact 16 16 15Noise levels 14 14 14

Health and safety concerns 4 4 12

Other personal 5 5 5

Want information if they propose/put one here 3 3 3

Local/Community Implications 13 13 13

Location of wind farms 4 4 5

Environmental impact 4 4 5

Impact on local community 3 2 2

How many will be built 1 2 1

Effectiveness/how it works - power generation 15 16 14

Efficiency/how much energy is produced 7 8 6

Comparison with other powers source 3 3 4

Longevity/lifespan of equipment 1 1 2

No wind/what happens when there's no wind 1 1 1

Effectiveness - Logistics 9 9 8

Cost of project 4 5 4

Economics of venture/is it worth doing 4 4 4

None/nothing 41 42 43

Base: Respondents in PrecinctsQ34b. Are there any specific aspects of wind energy or wind farms that you would like more information on

(unprompted)?* Categories of responses are in bold the percentages represent the nett of residents giving a response that

falls into that category. The main sub-categories of responses are shown below each category.


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4.4 Attitudes to wind power and wind farms

Attitudes to wind power

Residents were asked to rate their level of agreement with a number of statementsabout wind power

Almost all residents (95%) of the Precincts agreed that wind power was a clean source of energy(Figure 9). There was little absolute difference between the Precincts (ranging from 90 to 98%agreement) (Table 14).

A high proportion (90%) of Precinct residents believed that wind power has lower greenhouse gasesthan coal or gas emissions. Over three quarters (84%) of residents of the Precincts agreed that NSWhas great potential/resources for wind power, which was marginally higher than in the regionalcontrol area (77%).

About two thirds (63%) of residents of the Precincts agreed that wind power was efficient andreliable, although residents of Upper Hunter were least likely to agree (52%). Only about half (49%)

of residents agreed that wind power was the cheapest renewable energy source, and this wasinfluenced by a substantial incidence of uncertainty (36%).

There were no major demographic differences on these perceptions of wind power.

Figure 9. Attitudes to wind power in the Renewable Energy Precincts

39

37

23

11

11

51

58

60

52

38

3

2

7

14

14

1

1

1

2

1

7

3

9

21

36

0 20 40 60 80 100

Lower greenhouse gas emissions than coal or gas

Clean source of energy

NSW has great potential/resources for wind power

Efficient and reliable

Cheapest renewable energy source

% of residents

Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree Don't know

Base: Respondents in PrecinctsQ12. Please tell me to what extent you agree or disagree with each statement


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Table 14. Attitudes to wind power, by Precinct and regional control area

NSW REGIONAL PRECINCTS

Wind power

RenewableEnergy

Precincts

(n=1729)

RegionalControlArea

(n=293)

NewEngland

Tablelands

(n=289)

UpperHunter

(n=286)

CentralTablelands

(n=290)

NSW/ACTBorderRegion

(n=287)

SouthCoast

(n=291)

Cooma-Monaro

(n=286)% % % % % % % %

Clean source of energy

Agree 95 95 90 94 97 98 95 94

Disagree 3 2 4 5 2 2 2 4

Dont know 3 4 6 1 1 1 3 2

Lower greenhouse gas emissions than coal or gas

Agree 90 92 87 89 90 94 91 88

Disagree 3 2 2 5 5 2 3 5

Dont know 7 6 11 7 6 4 7 7

NSW has great potential/resources for wind powerAgree 84 77 79 80 86 86 85 83

Disagree 7 7 10 9 8 4 5 11

Dont know 9 16 11 11 6 10 10 6

Efficient and reliable

Agree 63 67 59 52 66 65 66 64

Disagree 15 15 17 27 16 14 12 19

Dont know 21 18 24 21 18 22 22 17

Cheapest renewable energy source

Agree 49 49 50 45 50 52 47 44

Disagree 15 14 13 22 16 15 14 21Dont know 36 37 36 33 35 33 39 35

Base: All respondentsStatistically significant difference between groups: highlighting higher and lower agreementQ12. Please tell me to what extent you agree or disagree with each statement


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Attitudes to wind farms in local region

Residents were asked to rate their level of agreement with a number of statementsabout wind farms in their local region

Overall, a majority of residents of the Precincts believed that their local council should encourage

wind farms (76%), that they benefit the local community (76%) and that there should be more windfarms in their local region (71%) (Figure 10). They were more positive about wind farms benefitingthe local community and boosting employment than about the likelihood that they will contribute totourism. They were also more likely to agree that there were would be no health concernsassociated with wind farms compared with safety concerns, on which agreement was morepolarised.

It should be noted that the terms health and safety were well differentiated in the pre-surveyqualitative interviews. Health was seen as referring particularly to the issue of emissions fromelectric cables; and safety was referring to accidents around the wind turbines. While noise wasalso raised as a potential issue, it was not in the context of the question on concerns about health.The non-agree results for the specific questions about safety and health are best interpreted as acombination of unfamiliarity/lack of knowledge; a perception that there could be issues (alsorelated to lack of specific knowledge); and for some people, a perception that there must be at

least some risk (e.g., teenagers mucking around). This is reinforced by the lack of specific concernsabout health and safety being raised by residents who opposed wind farms (see Table 20).

Residents of Upper Hunter were least positive on several of the issues rated about wind farms intheir local region, including that local councils should encourage wind farms, that wind farms wouldbenefit the local community, that wind farms would boost employment, and about wind farmshaving a negative impact on the environment (Table 15).

Figure 10. Attitudes to wind farms in local region, in the Renewable Energy Precincts

21

19

16

16

13

12

9

8

4

55

52

61

53

54

50

43

43

28

12

13

12

14

18

23

29

28

47

4

6

3

2

4

6

2

6

9

2

5

3

2

3

3

2

5

3

5

6

6

13

9

7

15

10

10

0 20 40 60 80 100

Local council should encourage wind farms

More wind farms in local region

Benefit local community

No health concerns

Boost employment and local economy

No negative impact on local environment#

No safety concerns

Not affect on heritage values

Help increase tourism

% of residents

Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree Depends Don't know

Base: Respondents in Precincts# This statement was asked as agreement with a negative impact. Results for agree and disagree have been

reversed to present a consistent positioning with the other statementsQ20. Please tell me to what extent you agree or disagree with each statement


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Table 15. Attitudes to wind farms in local region, by Precinct and regional control area

NSW REGIONAL PRECINCT

Feature of windfarms

RenewableEnergy

Precincts(n=1729)

RegionalControl

Area(n=293)

NewEngland

Tablelands(n=289)

UpperHunter(n=286)

CentralTablelands

(n=290)


SouthCoast

(n=291)

Cooma-Monaro(n=286)

% % % % % % % %Local council should encourage wind farms

Agree 76 74 73 67 76 78 78 74

Disagree 17 18 19 25 17 15 14 20

Dont know 8 9 8 8 7 8 7 6

More wind farms in local region

Agree 71 70 67 62 76 70 71 72

Disagree 19 20 21 30 18 21 17 19

Dont know 10 10 12 8 7 9 13 9

Benefit local community

Agree 76 78 74 67 77 79 77 73

Disagree 15 14 15 26 16 14 12 20Dont know 9 8 11 7 7 7 11 7

Wind farms would boost employment/economy

Agree 66 69 65 56 65 69 68 68

Disagree 22 18 22 30 26 20 19 19

Dont know 12 14 13 15 9 11 13 13

No negative impact on local environment#

Agree 62 62 57 52 66 68 60 61

Disagree 29 28 29 39 29 24 29 31

Dont know 10 10 14 10 5 8 11 8

Help increase tourism

Agree 32 32 31 24 40 37 27 32

Disagree 55 56 55 63 49 50 60 59

Dont know 13 12 14 13 11 12 13 10

No health concerns

Agree 69 68 67 58 72 68 72 67

Disagree 16 14 16 25 15 18 14 17

Dont know 15 19 17 17 13 14 15 15

No safety concerns

Agree 53 56 47 48 54 56 55 58

Disagree 31 27 38 35 31 30 25 28

Dont know 16 17 15 17 15 14 20 14

No effect on heritage values

Agree 51 54 53 42 53 51 49 52

Disagree 34 30 31 39 34 38 34 34

Dont know 15 16 16 19 13 11 17 14

Base: All respondentsStatistically significant difference between groups: highlighting higher and lower agreement# This statement was asked as agreement with a negative impact - results for agree and disagree have been

reversed to present a consistent positioning with the other statementsQ20. Please tell me to what extent you agree or disagree with each statement


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Impact of wind farms on property values, visual impact and noise

Residents were asked to rate whether wind farms would have an impact on visual appealand property values, and about their level of concern about noise

About half of residents of the Precincts considered that wind farms would have only a positiveimpact or no impact on property values (50%) and on visual impact (53%) (Table 16). Residents of

Upper Hunter (48%) were the most likely to consider that wind farms would have a negative visualimpact, while residents of NSW/ACT Border Region (34%) were the least likely.

Residents of the Precincts were also polarised in their concern about noise 1-2 kilometres from awind farm. Residents of Upper Hunter were again more negative (52% some/great concern), whilethe least concern was expressed by residents of NSW/ACT Border Region (49% no/little concern) andCooma-Monaro (48%).

Table 16. Impact of wind farms on property values, visual appeal and noise, by Precinct andregional control area


Perceivedimpact

RenewableEnergy

Precincts(n=1729)

RegionalControl

Area(n=293)

NewEngland

Tablelands(n=289)

Upper

Hunter(n=286)

Central

Tablelands(n=290)

NSW/ACTBorder

Region(n=287)

South

Coast(n=291)

Cooma-

Monaro(n=286)

% % % % % % % %

Impact on property values

Positive impact 20 20 24 18 18 20 20 25

No impact 30 27 24 23 30 33 33 31

Negative impact 35 39 37 42 37 31 35 30

Other response 15 15 15 17 15 17 13 14

Visual impact

Positive impact 25 22 21 18 29 28 23 24

No impact 28 24 31 26 27 33 26 30

Negative impact 41 45 40 48 41 34 43 37

Other response 7 9 8 8 3 6 8 9

Noise a concern if built 1-2 km away

No/little concern 42 44 38 38 42 49 43 48

Some/greatconcern 44 43 46 52 47 40 42 44

Depends/Dont know 14 12 15 9 11 12 16 9

Base: All respondentsStatistically significant difference between groups: highlighting more positive and more negative resultsQ21. In your view, what impact would wind farms in your local region have on property values?Q22. In your view, what impact would wind farms have on the visual appeal of the surrounding area?

Q27. In your view, to what extent would noise be a concern for you if a wind farm was 1-2 km away from yourresidence?


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4.5 Support for wind farms

Overview

Residents were asked whether they supported or opposed wind farms in NSW, in theirlocal region, 10 km from their residence and 1-2 km from their residence

The large majority of residents across the Precincts indicated they would support wind farms beingbuilt both in NSW (85%) as well as in their local region (80%) (Figure 11). The results were verysimilar to the regional control.

Residents of the Precincts were also very supportive of wind farms being built in the vicinity of theirresidence. Over three quarters (79%) supported wind farms at 10 kilometres, suggesting that thelocal region is seen as broadly equivalent to this distance. Support dropped substantially, althoughstill held by the majority of residents (60%), when considering a wind farm being built 1-2kilometres from their residence.

Residents opposing wind farms being built 1-2 kilometres from their residence were much morelikely to raise concerns about noise and the impact on the landscape, than residents supporting windfarms (Table 19). Those opposing were also much less likely to suggest benefits of wind farms, such

as reducing pollution and improving the community and economy (Table 18). Nevertheless, themajority of those opposing still offered an overall benefit of wind farms in the local region.

Figure 11. Overall support for wind farms, in the Renewable Energy Precincts

85

80

79

60

0 20 40 60 80 100

In NSW

In local region



% of residents

Total Support

Base: Respondents in PrecinctsStatistically significant difference between measures: highlighting lower=Q13. Overall, to what extent do you support or oppose wind farms being built in NSW?Q17. Overall, to what extent do you support or oppose wind farms being built in your local region?Q25. Overall, to what extent do you support or oppose wind farms being built 10 km from your residence?

Q24. Overall, to what extent do you support or oppose wind farms being built 1-2 km from your residence?


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Support in NSW

The large majority (85%) of residents across the Precincts supported the building of wind farms inNSW (Figure 12). The level of support among residents of the control area was identical to that ofthe Precincts. Overall, only a small minority of residents opposed wind warms in NSW across thePrecincts (9%) and the regional control area (8%).

The level of total support for wind farms in NSW was consistently high across the Precincts (79-89%).There were, however, differences in the level ofstrong support:

residents of Central Tablelands (48% strongly support), NSW/Act Border Region (46%)and South Coast (42%) showed the strongest support; and

residents of New England Tablelands (28% strongly support) and Upper Hunter (27%)showed the least strong support.

This pattern of differences was consistent with results on attitudes and perceptions of a number ofissues in the study.

Figure 12. Support for wind farms in NSW, by Precincts and regional control area

40

40

28

27

48

46

42

37

45

45

54

52

40

43

42

47

7

4

10

7

6

5

5

5

2

4

2

6

3

3

2

4

6

7

6

8

3

4

8

7

0 20 40 60 80 100

Renewable Energy Prec incts (n=1729)

Regional Control Are a (n=293)



Central Tablelands (n=290)


South Coast (n=291)


% of residents

Strongly support Support Oppose Strongly oppose Depends/Don't know

Base: All respondentsStatistically significant difference between Precincts: highlighting higher=, lower=supportQ13. Overall, to what extent do you support or oppose wind farms being built in NSW?

Prec

incts


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Support in local region

Over three quarters (80%) of residents of the Precincts supported wind farms being built in theirlocal region, and a third (34%) were strongly supportive (Figure 13). Residents of Upper Hunter andNew England Tablelands were again less supportive with only about a quarter (22% and 26%respectively) strongly supporting wind farms, compared with at least a third (33%-43%) in each of

the other Precincts.

A small minority (15%) of residents overall opposed wind farms in their local region.

The overall level of support among residents of the control area (78%) was again very similar to thatin the Precincts.

Figure 13. Support for wind farms in local region, by Precincts and regional control area

34

30

26

22

38

43

33

37

46

48

51

54

49

42

43

44

9

9

11

9

7

6

9

9

6

6

6

9

6

5

7

6

5

8

6

5

1

4

8

5

0 20 40 60 80 100

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