Plan to build dozens of huge wind turbines across NSW that will be almost twice the size of the Harbour Bridge sparks outrage

Residents who call some of Australia’s most picturesque spots home fear a major offshore wind project will destroy their coastal communities forever.

The NSW Central Coast and Hunter regions north of Sydney are coming together to fight the Anthony Albanese government’s proposed plans to build an offshore wind farm in its efforts to take Australia to net-zero emissions.

The Hunter Offshore Renewable Energy Area is proposed to cover more than 1,800 square kilometers between Swansea and Port Stephens.

It could generate up to 5 GW of wind energy, enough to power an estimated 4.2 million homes and local industries.

The federal government, together with Victoria’s Gippsland region, recently declared the area suitable for future offshore wind development.

On the Central Coast, residents of Noah Head fear the offshore wind farm will destroy not only their seaside resort, but the wider region in the long term.

There is also fear of threats to ocean wildlife.

“The long-term suffering and consequences are not taken into account,” Nick Anderson, spokesman for the Love Noah Head group, told Sky News presenter Chris Kenny.

“Destroying our beaches, destroying our coastline, destroying our wildlife and destroying our tourism is not the solution.”

“Australia and especially places like Port Stephens are dependent on that tourism.”

‘That’s why it’s beautiful, and that’s why we go there, because it’s beautiful. It’s the place where we get rid of all the hard work we’ve put in over the past week, we go there to relax and we become Australians again.

Noah Head locals have successfully lobbied to reduce the proposed zone from 2,810 square kilometers and move it further away from the coast during the Government’s community consultation process.

But it means the offshore wind farm will be just 20km off the coast of Port Stephens.

“They need to get together, and they need to object en masse, and they need to go there with good objective reasons why it’s not feasible,” Anderson said.

“If they are there in large numbers, the government cannot ignore them.”

The federal government announced in July that the NSW Hunter region had been declared suitable for future offshore wind development. The proposed zone is shown in green

Locals say the wind turbines will destroy their coastline and destroy tourism and wildlife

The turbines will fly 260 meters into the air; double the height of the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

“If you look out at an industrial complex of wind turbines, you’re not going to have any fun,” Anderson said.

“They were moved off the Central Coast because of what we did, so they are now 57km from Noah Head.”

“But we’ll still see them. Port Stephens is only twenty kilometers away, so they will be able to see it very clearly.’

Several other offshore wind farms have been proposed for Bass Strait, the NSW Illawarra region and Bunbury in Western Australia.

The NSW Hunter project, announced in July, is currently in the feasibility phase, where interested developers have until November to submit feasibility license applications for proposed offshore wind projects.

Construction can begin once the feasibility phase is completed and environmental and management plan approvals are received.

The project is expected to create up to 3,120 construction jobs and a further 1,560 ongoing operations jobs in the Hunter region.

“The Hunter is undergoing significant economic change and the prospect of creating new jobs in the coming decades through a new offshore wind industry is a game changer,” said Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen.

Residents of Noah Head successfully lobbied to move the turbines further away