NEXT time you drive through Blayney to Cowra, take some time to look at two generations of wind farms.
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The first, the Blayney wind farm near Carcoar Dam, was opened in 2000.
At that time, it was one of the largest in Australia, costing $18 million, with each of its 15 turbines standing around 45 metres high with a rotor diameter of 47 metres.
It has already avoided over 400,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide compared to an equivalent amount of electricity generated by coal.
It's nearing the end of its anticipated life and its owner, Australian company Tilt, will soon be negotiating with the host landowners whether to extend its life, upgrade the site with newer, larger turbines or shut it down and recycle the mainly steel towers and composite turbines.
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Just past Carcoar, turn right to the Flyers Creek Wind Farm.
It dwarfs the Blayney farm.
Just two of its giant turbines will generate as much energy as the entire Blayney farm.
Construction started in April, 2022 and it should be operational in early 2024, when it will be powering the equivalent of 80,000 Australian homes.
Transporting the massive towers and blades along windy, rural dirt roads during one of the wettest years on record presented many challenges.
There is still work to do, but the public roads are now repaired and sealed.
Some folks worried about the impact of the wind farms on land values, tourism and noise levels.
There aren't many Australian studies on wind farms and land values, but a study commissioned by the NSW Valuer General in August 2009 found that there had been no negative impact on Blayney land prices.
"The wind farm does not appear to have deterred the construction of new homes in the area ... three relatively newly constructed properties have been oriented with views towards the turbines despite views being available in alternative directions," the study said.
The Carcoar Dam is popular with campers, particularly over the summer.
Many holiday-makers visit the public viewing area and interpretive centre there.
They soon get used to the occasional 'swish' of the blades and so do the cows that graze under the giant turbines.
Australian wind farms have a good safety record.
No workers have been killed in their construction or maintenance, and there have only been five turbine fires recorded.
There are no profits in accidents or breakdowns.
For me, these wind towers stand like a beacon of hope in a dangerously warming world.
