St Patricks Plains Wind Farm Pty Ltd, St Patricks Plains Wind Farm, Central Highlands Tasmania

St Patricks Plains Wind Farm Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Ark Energy Projects Pty Ltd,  has proposed to construct and operate a wind farm. The project involves up to 47 wind turbines producing up to 300 MW. It includes the construction of a switchyard connecting the wind farm to TasNetwork's Waddamana to Palmerston existing transmission corridor. Details of the proposal are available in the Notice of Intent (NOI) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) which can be viewed below.

The proponent has lodged a permit application with Central Highlands Council under the Land Use Planning and Approvals Act 1993. The proposal is subject to an environmental impact assessment by the Board of the EPA(the Board) in accordance with the Environmental Management and Pollution Control Act 1994 (EMPC Act).

The project has been determined to be a Controlled Action under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999​ (EPBC Act) (EPBC reference number 2019/8497) and will require assessment and approval under the EPBC Act, in addition to State and Local government requirements. It was determined that the proposed action will have, or is likely to have, a significant impact on matters of national environmental significance, protected under Part 3 of the EPBC Act, including:

• Listed threatened species and communities (sections 18 and 18A)

The proposal will be assessed by the EPA Board in th​e manner specified in the Bilateral Agreement​ between the Commonwealth of Australia and the State of Tasmania under Section 45 of the EPBC Act relating to environmental assessment.

EIS Guidelines, prepared by the Board, assist the proponent in preparing the case for assessment. The guidelines identify the key issues which, based on the information in the NOI, are expected to be key issues for the assessment of the proposal.

Public comment on the draft guidelines was invited, the comment period has now closed. The final guidelines have been issued. 

  Epuron Pty Ltd, St Patricks Plains Wind Farm, Central Highlands - Project Specific Guidelines   (689Kb) 

  Epuron Pty Ltd, St Patricks Plains Wind Farm, Central Highlands - Notice of Intent   (14Mb)

A copy of the permit application and all plans and other documentation submitted with the permit application (including the EIS) were made available for public inspection. The public consultation period has now closed.

The purpose of the EIS is to provide a source of information upon which interested individuals, groups, government agencies and the Board may consider the environmental impacts of the proposal.

The EIS was prepared by the proponent on the basis of the Project Specific Guidelines for preparation of an EIS which were provided by the Board.

 St Patricks Plains Windfarm, Central Highlands - EIS (PDF 44Mb)

 St Patricks Plains Windfarm, Central Highlands - Appendix A - General design principles (PDF 4Mb)

 St Patricks Plains Windfarm, Central Highlands - Appendix B - Avifauna report (PDF 28Mb)

 St Patricks Plains Windfarm, Central Highlands - Appendix C - Terrestrial flora and fauna report (PDF 35Mb)

 St Patricks Plains Windfarm, Central Highlands - Appendix D - Noise assessment (PDF 4Mb)

 St Patricks Plains Windfarm, Central Highlands - Appendix E - Background noise assessment (PDF 11Mb)

 St Patricks Plains Windfarm, Central Highlands - Appendix F - Socio-economic report (PDF 2Mb)

 St Patricks Plains Windfarm, Central Highlands - Appendix G - Traffic impact assessment (PDF 3Mb)

 St Patricks Plains Windfarm, Central Highlands - Appendix Ha - Visual Impact Assessment Vol 1 (PDF 9Mb)

 St Patricks Plains Windfarm, Central Highlands - Appendix Hb - Visual Impact Assessment Vol 2 (PDF 225Mb)

​ St Patricks Plains Windfarm, Central Highlands - Appendix I - Shadow flicker assessment (PDF 3Mb)

 St Patricks Plains Windfarm, Central Highlands - Appendix J - Hydrogeology Report (PDF 9Mb)

 St Patricks Plains Windfarm, Central Highlands - Appendix K - Reconnaissance Acid Sulfate Soils Report (PDF 4Mb)

 St Patricks Plains Windfarm, Central Highlands - Appendix L - EPA Tasmania avian mortality monitoring plan guidelines (PDF 137Kb)

Submitted in response to the Board's call for further information following the public comment period.

In addition to the files below, printed copies of the EIS Supplement will be available to view at the following locations and times from Tuesday 7 May 2024:

Central Highlands Council – 19 Alexander Street, Bothwell – 8am – 5pm, Monday-Friday

Ark Energy Information Centre – 16A Patrick Street, Bothwell – 10am-1pm Friday

​

 St Patricks Plains Windfarm, Central Highlands - EIS Supplement EIS Supplement (PDF 6Mb)

 St Patricks Plains Windfarm, Central Highlands - EIS Supplement Appendix A (PDF 298Kb)

 St Patricks Plains Windfarm, Central Highlands - EIS Supplement Appendix B (PDF 145Kb)

 St Patricks Plains Windfarm, Central Highlands - EIS Supplement Appendix C (PDF 188Kb)

 St Patricks Plains Windfarm, Central Highlands - EIS Supplement Appendix D (PDF 1Mb)

 St Patricks Plains Windfarm, Central Highlands - EIS Supplement Appendix E (PDF 6Mb)

 St Patricks Plains Windfarm, Central Highlands - EIS Supplement Appendix F (PDF 4Mb)

 St Patricks Plains Windfarm, Central Highlands - EIS Supplement Appendix G (PDF 273Kb)

 St Patricks Plains Windfarm, Central Highlands - EIS Supplement Appendix H Part 1 (PDF 1Mb)

 St Patricks Plains Windfarm, Central Highlands - EIS Supplement Appendix H Part 2 (PDF 897Kb)

 St Patricks Plains Windfarm, Central Highlands - EIS Supplement Appendix I (PDF 236Kb)

 St Patricks Plains Windfarm, Central Highlands - EIS Supplement Appendix J (PDF 21Mb)

 St Patricks Plains Windfarm, Central Highlands - EIS Supplement Appendix K (PDF 3Mb)

The environmental assessment report (EAR) has now been completed and can be viewed below. The report contains the permit conditions required by the Board to be included in the land use permit, if a permit is granted, by Council.

 St Patricks Plains Wind Farm, Central Highlands - EAR (PDF 11Mb)