Reading opposition to offshore wind turbines commonly referring to environmental impacts left lifelong environmentalist Rowan Huxtable scratching his head.
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The member of the Wollongong Climate Action Network notes there may be some local environmental impacts from offshore wind turbines off the Illawarra coast, but says there is a much bigger issue that outweighs many of those concerns.
"There are possibly unknown environmental impacts of this, but we've got a really big, internationally agreed environmental catastrophe coming up, unless we get a whole lot of renewable energy and fast," he said.
A prominent anti-wind farm website set up in the Illawarra features whales and other marine creatures on its logo, suggesting that these are at risk from the proposal. However if Australia is unable to reach net zero, a lack of obstructions in the ocean will not save whales and birds.
"We have agreed, with most of the rest of the world, to get to net zero by 2050, and if we don't get there, the ice will melt in the Antarctic, the ocean currents will stop, there won't be whale migration, there won't be fish species, the birds, they won't be there," he said. "Anybody who's concerned about the environment, there won't be a Barrier Reef."
After a week of in person drop in consultation sessions, Mr Huxtable, along with other environmentalists, joined together to discuss where Illawarra environmental groups sat on the issue. They found there was unanimous support for the plan for an offshore wind zone.
As part of other efforts to reduce emissions, the groups saw offshore wind as playing a key role in providing large amounts of relatively consistent electricity to the grid, and enabling the creation of green industries in the Illawarra.
"The world needs our green hydrogen, green steel is a huge opportunity," Mr Huxtable said.
And for those concerned that the wind farms would disrupt the pristine coast line of the Illawarra and turn the region into an industrial power plant? A quick look either side of Flagstaff Hill disproved that concern, EcoArts Australis committee member David Curtis said.
"It is an industrial landscape, there's the steel works, the coal ships, it's a big port. We live in an industrial landscape."
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