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- Flood zone

- Loss of Rose Cottage Horse Paddocks

- Conflict of interest?

- How many jobs will the data centre create?

- How will it look, from where

- How much noise will there be?

- Fog, smog and wind

- Where will the water come from?

- What's the impact on wildlife?

- Re-zoning of the land

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How much noise will there be?

- ActewAGL, in their application, rely on the Acoustic Assessment produced by Bassett Consulting Engineers (Appendix M in the Application, Dated 22nd February 2008).

- Page 3 of the document states that “It (the power station) will include up to nine Titan 120 generators”. Titan 120 model generators simply do not exist so they cannot form the basis for a report. However, Titan model 130 do, which I believe are the actual devices proposed. Click here or click here to see what the Titan 130 looks like in its specifications pages (PDF format).

- Page i of this document states “Noise levels within this report have been based on data supplied by SDA Engineering Pty Ltd and through ActewAGL”… can the data be accurate given ActewAGL’s vested interest in this project?

- Sound Pressure Levels have been given at a distance of one metre from each source. The resulting accuracy of the noise model produced as part of this study is limited by the accuracy of the data which has been supplied.”

- SDA Engineering have an existing business relationship with AGL (they installed a much smaller gas turbine in Adelaide. (Source http://pahrisite.com/sda/nat.html) and they may benefit from additional work with ActewAGL if this project goes ahead.

- The table in Page 7 shows that the “main contributor of noise levels at the site is the cooling tower plant”. The figure quoted is 87db (A) however it is unclear if this is for a single tower or for all 9 proposed.

- Either way, based on documented experience at the Ron Goodin Power station at Alice Springs, the results simply cannot be true.

- As a result of repeated complaints from nearby residents located 300 metres to 1500 metres from the Titan 130 generator at the Ron Goodin Power Station, a highly detailed report was produced in late 2006 titled “Report 08.501D-RGPS Noise Impact Assessment November 2006”.

- Page 7 of the report states that “the noise emissions from the Titan generator were measured to have a maximum Laeq of 103.1 dB(A) at a distance of 3m away from and 3m above the lip of the exhaust.”

- A discrepancy of more than 16.1 db(A) exists between the real world, measured data at the Ron Goodin Power Station and that of Bassett's report.

- As a result of the initial noise problems, Power and Water Corporation (the Power Station owner) installed additional noise abatement measures at a cost of $800,000. These were partially successful in that the noise was reduced by some 5 db.

- However, this was insufficient. So much so that the offending power plants are being moved to another site approximately 25 km's from Alice Springs.

- Additionally, the testing proved that ambient (background) noise levels were significantly higher at the Alice Springs locations when compared to Macarthur ACT. Time of Day Alice Springs, NT Macarthur, ACT Difference.

- Macarthur is quieter than the sites recorded in Alice Springs.

- Despite having higher ambient noise levels in Alice Springs, the Titan 130 turbine generator could still be heard.

- Key points in summary:

- Bassett's report relies on data supplied by ActewAGL and SDA Engineering (which may not be factual due to a vested interest in the outcome).

- The source data is unlikely to be valid; the documented experiences at the Ron Goodin Power Station prove this.

- The quality of testing at the Ron Goodin Power Station is very high. The report is very detailed, it is backed up by calibration data.

- The Basset report is 1/3 the size and has no calibration data.

- Although the ambient (background) noise at the Alice Springs test sites is greater than in Macarthur, the noise from the generators was still a problem. This indicates that residents WILL have an issue with noise from the turbines.

- NT Power and Water attempted to solve the problem through engineering solutions and they could not.

- NT Power and Water are relocating the offending generators to meet their obligations to their neighbours.

- If this happens in Canberra, the tax payers will have to foot the bill for this enormous mistake.

Sources -

- Report 08.501D-RGPS Noise Impact Assessment November 2006 -

http://www.powerwater.com.au/docs/reports/100107_hmapw_report_rgps_06_survey_final.pdf

- Noise Mitigation works at the Alice Springs Ron Goodin Power Station

http://www.powerwater.com.au/news/ron_goodin_power_station.htm
Disclaimer: This web site was created to aid Canberra residents in gaining information regarding the ACTEWAGL proposed development of a major utility gas-fired power station and data centre. The contents of this site have been provided by other concerned residents who do not have the resources, either time nor money, that ACTEWAGL have to commission investigations, surveys and reports. These residents do have some skills and expertise in the areas they have provided details. They may make mistakes in their figures, especially those relating to high technology. They did not do this deliberately to mislead and any corrections are welcomed. We ask that you use this web site as a source of information and research details for yourself. The creators of this web site do not support all the views contained on this web site and again stress this site is provided as a resource for Canberrans to gain information and support research into this $2 billion project. It will affect you - use your voice.