A neighbourhood dispute has erupted over a 10m-tall backyard wind turbine erected by Phillip Island electrician Rob McKittrick.
McKittrick has defended his decision to install the wind turbine after neighbours complained about the structure to the local council.
“I’m qualified to do this. We need to do this and I’m doing this for the right reasons,” McKittrick told A Current Affair.
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“If people aren’t happy, then they’re environmentally irresponsible.”
Rob McKittrick said the process of researching, engineering and building the backyard wind turbine in compliance with local laws had taken him 11 years.
“This is the way forward for renewable energy, in the middle of winter it doesn’t matter how many batteries we have because the sun doesn’t always shine and the grid doesn’t always hold up,” he told ABC Gippsland.
McKittrick’s neighbours say they are concerned about the safety of the turbine and the noise it might generate.
“Everybody is petrified that they’ll be kept awake at night by the sounds of a wind turbine,” Ian Juster said.
“There’s a gentleman who lives next door who has some health issues with his heart. I checked in on him and his hands are literally shaking with anxiety.”
Bass Coast Shire Council CEO Ali Wastie said the council was also concerned about the backyard wind turbine but had no power to force its removal.
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“Council exhausted all available planning avenues including writing to the Minister for Planning to intervene,” she said.
Wastie added that council would monitor the turbine to make sure it did not breach local laws.
“Now it has been erected, if it is found that the turbine breaches any compliance requirement or council’s local law [such as height, noise, commercial in nature, used for advertising purposes], then council will pursue all enforcement options available to ensure the breach is fully rectified,” she said.
