Safety incident occurred on Golden Plains Wind Farm in weeks leading up to fatal accident

The wind farm where a worker was killed last week recorded a separate safety incident in the weeks leading up to the fatality.

Sub-contractor Jess Patience, 36, was killed on November 1 when he was crushed by a turbine blade at the Golden Plains Wind Farm in Western Victoria.

7.30 can reveal there was another accident, described as a “blade strike incident”, on October 26 during the lifting of a turbine blade.

The Danish company responsible for constructing the project, Vestas, said a sub-contractor was involved in the October incident.

“Vestas responded appropriately by ensuring that no further lifting activities have been carried out by this sub-contractor until the incident investigation is complete and corrective actions are implemented,” the company told 7.30.

WorkSafe Victoria told 7.30 it had conducted 117 site visits to the project since March last year and issued 22 compliance notices to a number of duty holders.

‘It’s bloody awful’

In September, farmer Russell Coad, whose property sits next to Golden Plains Wind Farm, said serrated blade parts flew onto his farm after breaking off the turbines during strong winds.

“If it was on a building site in Melbourne, the whole place would be closed down,” he told 7.30.

“We’ve had exclusion zones put on part of our farm from these pieces flying across our property and there are concerns if someone is hit by one of them what the consequences would be.”

Vestas told 7.30 that following Mr Coad’s complaints, a 400-metre exclusion zone was put around every turbine on the wind farm before all turbine blades were thoroughly inspected.

The exclusion zones were lifted in October but Mr Coad remains frustrated.

“We’re not part of the wind farm, we shouldn’t be getting objects off a building site scattered across our farm,” he said.

“There’s been no guarantee it won’t happen again. It’s been admitted by the project people that these pieces will continue to shed so it’s a major concern to us.

Mr Coad’s family has lived just south of the town of Rokewood for more than 70 years and opposes the new wind farm project.

“They stick out like dogs’ balls,” he said.

“We are surrounded by these, it’s bloody awful, it’s heartbreaking. Every day I come out and look at these damn things. I’ll see them for the rest of my life.

“Why should I have to suffer some other stupid bastard’s great idea about how good renewable energy is impacting on our lives?

“It’s ripped our little community totally apart.”

The region is at the forefront of Australia’s renewable energy revolution and is now home to several large wind farm projects.

On the Golden Plains Wind Farm, as many as 228 turbines — each more than 200m high, with a rotor diameter almost the size of the MCG — have been approved to be built across an area spanning more than 30 kilometres.

The project claims it is the largest of its kind in Australia and is expected to generate power for 765,000 homes and meet 9 per cent of Victoria’s current energy demand.

Community divided

Mr Coad and fourth-generation Rokewood grazier Adam Walton tried to fight the project in Victoria’s Supreme Court but were unsuccessful.

Mr Walton’s property borders the northern edge of the project and he has been told he is unable to erect a building or dwelling within 1km of a turbine because of noise impacts.

“I just don’t like the fact that someone else is using some of our land to buffer their project,” he said.

“If you want to build your project, that’s fine, but do it inside your own land.”

But Rokewood general store owner Helena Kirby says the wind farm is already producing windfalls for the town through community grants given by the wind farm operators.

She has hired an extra eight staff since work on the wind farm began.

Once the project is up and running, the wind farm will be required to spend $1,000 per turbine, per year, for the life of the project, on the local community.

“We know that there is a lot of money to be spent around the district, for the farmers, for the local communities, for the senior citizens, for the sporting groups, so we know there are some pluses for having the wind farm in our region,” she said.

Investigation into fatal accident

The death of Mr Patience has brought the $3 billion Golden Plains renewable energy project into sharp focus.

“Jess is a CFMEU member and unfortunately his name is added to a list of workers who have tragically gone to work, never to return home again,” CFMEU national secretary Zach Smith told 7.30.

“He did a job that he’s done undoubtedly 100 times before and he was crushed by a falling blade from a wind turbine.

“I’m limited in how much detail I can go into at this stage. I don’t want to prejudice any coronial investigation or any investigation that WorkSafe is currently conducting.”

Vestas told 7.30 that normal operations at the Golden Plains Wind Farm had been paused.

“We are working with the individual’s employer, Professional Wind Services, to ensure that we can support the family in any way possible during this difficult time.

“As an investigation is underway involving Victorian Police and WorkSafe Victoria, it would be inappropriate to comment further.”

The CFMEU has claimed the union met with Vestas on multiple occasions to raise safety and culture concerns in the wind farm industry.

“Some of the issues that we’ve seen with this project and other projects relates to crane operations, lifting practices, how erection occurs and how some of that high-risk work is performed,” Mr Smith said.

“It also comes down to some of the basic fundamentals: housekeeping issues, proper first aid, proper consultation with the workforce.

“With a lot of investment, sometimes safety standards don’t keep up with the amount of work and the amount of development that’s happening in that space.”

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