Community Bulletin, July 2023

There’s been some winds of change at Lal Lal recently…

Tracey Ward our affable Community and Stakeholder Relationship Manager, has moved onto a new opportunity after five years working on the project.

The entire team would like to thank Tracey for all her hard work and professionalism over the past five years particularly her coordination of the Community Benefits Fund which is now in it’s seventh year. Tracey’s energy and enthusiasm will be missed on-site and it’s fair to say that we’re all big fans of her work.

Stepping in to fill Tracey’s shoes is the ever-amiable Nathan Moir who is now managing all community and landowner matters for Lal Lal Wind Farm. Nate (as he likes to be called) joins the team at Lal Lal with over 15 years experience in community and stakeholder relations and is looking forward to shooting the breeze.

Nathan is contactable through the project email info@lallalwindfarms.com.au or via the community info line on 1800 187 183

We generated enough energy last year to power over 80,000 homes

Your support is a major factor in this achievement and we thank you

Tour at Lal Lal

In June, Lal Lal Wind Farm welcomed 18 students from Melbourne University undertaking a Masters of Energy Systems Association.

The tour was organised as an opportunity for students to hear about the day-to-day operations, maintenance and intricacies of how wind turbines function. The students had the opportunity to ask questions from one of our site technicians and see a real world application of a operational wind farm

2023 Community Benefit Fund update

Now in its seventh year, the Lal Lal Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund has been established to provide financial sponsorship support for a range of community-based initiatives, projects and events that benefit local communities. The Fund is open to a range of community purposes and needs including health and social welfare, safety, environmental, educational, youth projects, sport and recreation, culture, the arts and economic development.

Applications for the 2023 Community Benefit Fund has now closed and similar to previous years, it’s been great to see so many community organisations applying.

This year eight community projects will share in over $100k in grants with funding spread across Bungaree, Clarendon, Dunnstown, Elaine, and Yendon these include;

Bungaree Football and Netball Club to purchase a portable stage for events like awards nights, guest speakers and live entertainment
Bungaree Bowling Club for maintenance equipment for the bowling green, line marking and gardening equipment Clarendon Recreation Reserve for tennis court fencing
Dunnstown Community Centre an update to the heating at the community centre Elaine Mechanics Hall to replace deteriorating doors and add a spruce of paint
Elaine Rec Reserve to install and purchase new shades over the playground recreation reserve
Lal Lal Primary School to improve safety and install security cameras
Lal Lal Soldiers Memorial Hall to update the cooking facilities within the Soldiers Memorial Hall

We look forward to sharing updates on some of these projects in the months to come.

Get to know Nate…

Tell us a bit about you?

I’ve worked extensively across large scale road, rail and civil infrastructure projects so I really understand the importance and views of a local community. What’s important to me is that we build a good level of trust and dialogue and work together for mutually beneficial outcomes for the local area.

Why did you join Lal Lal Wind Farm

Two things really excited me about joining the team. The first is the people factor, I enjoy hearing people’s stories, speaking with them and solving problems over a cuppa. The second is my interest in renewable energy and how that effects the future of our planet.

Why do you think renewable energy is important? Climate change is a massive problem that could impact everyone. In my opinion, if we want our lease on the planet to be renewed, our energy will have to be renewable.