First it was on, then it was off – now offshore wind may be back on off the coast of Kiama.

Earlier this week, The Bugle’s Brendon Foye brought us big news from the Illawarra Clean Energy Summit & Expo.

The Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, has announced plans for a 1,400 square kilometre offshore wind zone, stretching from Wombarra in the north to Gerringong in the south.

The project – which would see turbines installed at least 30 kilometres off Kiama’s coast – would generate enough energy to power 3.4 million homes. It will also provide 2,500 jobs during construction and 1,250 jobs on an ongoing basis.

While few of The Bugle’s readers would be against more good jobs and more clean energy, many are likely to have concerns around the environmental impact of such a project – and what that could mean for tourism and the local economy.

This news is also sure to give many of our readers a heavy dose of déjà vu.

It was only two months ago that BlueFloat Energy canned its plans to plant 150 turbines off Kiama’s shoreline, following significant community blowback. The Bugle reckons that blowback could’ve been measured in gigawatts!

At the very least, it’s a good thing that Minister Bowen has promised to hold a fair dinkum consultation on this new project. He says: “this is a genuine consultation and I encourage all community members to get involved and have their say on the proposed zone”.

Community information sessions will be held at Kiama Leagues Club on Wednesday 20^th September and Gerringong Town Hall on Thursday 21^st September, with the formal consultation period to run until Monday 16^th October.

Irrespective of where locals land on this issue, it’s The Bugle’s very strong view that everyone should get an opportunity to have their say and that the Federal Government needs to listen.

At the time of the BlueFloat decision, Kiama State MP, Gareth Ward welcomed the decision to move their project away from Kiama. We have not heard from Mr Ward following this latest development from the Federal Government. In a statement on Facebook, Federal Member for Gilmore Fiona Phillips provided details about the consultation period and said the project “presents a huge economic opportunity”.

Here at The Bugle, we’ll do everything we can to make sure that our community’s voice is heard. But ultimately it starts with you.

Please contact us and tell us whether you think, on balance, a new offshore wind turbine farm is good for Kiama.