Local council drops court case against one of Australia’s most hotly contested wind projects

A legal battle to overturn the independent state approval of a New South Wales wind farm has ended with a whimper, after the regional council behind the “lengthy and unnecessary” proceedings agreed to drop the case.

Someva Renewables said on Friday that the Land and Environment Court of NSW has approved the company’s proposed 372 megwatt (MW) Hills of Gold Wind Farm, ending an 18-month appeal process.

The Tamworth Regional Council was in court challenging the approval given in late 2024 by the NSW Independent Planning Commission (IPC) of the Hills of Gold wind farm, proposed for construction on a ridge outside the former gold-mining town of Nundle, 50 km south of Tamworth.

The council had argued that the IPC – an independent body that makes the final planning call on contested projects – didn’t have enough information to approve the road upgrades needed to move oversized wind turbine parts to the site.

But the council’s case – originally prosecuted by a local group set up to oppose the project – started unravelling in the preliminary hearing just a few weeks ago, with the presiding judge frustrated over the “narrowness of the issues” being fought over.

“Council has to make some hard calls here,” Chief Justice Preston said, as Renew Economy reported here. “Is this a wise use of public resources to be fighting this? I know they’ve got a bee in their bonnet about this case but it seems to me that they’ve lost perspective as to what it is they’re doing here.”

In a statement on Friday, Someva described the legal challenge as “disappointing,” while also noting that this was likely the first time that a NSW council had lodged a legal appeal questioning the merits of an IPC approved renewable energy project.

“While it is disappointing that Tamworth Regional Council pursued these lengthy and unnecessary legal proceedings at ratepayers’ expense, we hope this outcome sends a clear message: State Significant Developments … approved through independent processes, can and should proceed on their merits,” said Someva Renewables director of development, Tim Mead.

The other message from the case, says Mead, is that “renewable energy projects in NSW continue to face unnecessary delays that are costing energy users, local communities and these delays are threatening NSW’s energy security and transition.”

“[The Hills of Gold wind farm] was thoroughly assessed over a seven year period by the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure before facing further scrutiny, and receiving a final approval, from the NSW Independent Planning Commission (IPC) in September 2024,” he said.

“We have always been confident in the strength of that approval.”

Someva – which only bought the wind farm in September of last year – will also be hoping that the aborted court challenge will draw a line under the project’s undoubtedly rocky history, that over the years has been the subject of a 4 Corners report and even inspired its own anti-wind slogan: “Not in Nundle, Ever!”

Hills of Gold first won a recommendation from the NSW government planning department in late 2023, but for only 47 turbines, and a shrunken capacity of 290 megawatts (MW), down from 64 turbines in its original application.

The then project owner, Engie, initially welcomed that decision, but a few months later applied for 15 of the 17 turbines that had been removed by the department to be reinstated, arguing that without them the project was not commercially viable.

The IPC, to whom the project was referred because of the number of public objections to the wind farm, found Engie’s argument to be supported by independent research and resumed its assessment based on a revised 62 turbine proposal, and a 100 MW, four hour battery.

The project received a whopping 1122 submissions, of which 747 were against. Nevertheless, the IPC approved Hills of Gold in 2024 – and then the legal challenge followed.

Even that was a shambles. A local group set up to oppose the project called Hills of Gold Preservation Society launched the appeal soon after the IPC decision, and convinced the Tamworth Regional Council to join.

The council did join, only for the community group to pull out shortly afterwards, leaving the council to carry the legal costs alone.

In its statement this week, Someva Renewables, which describes itself as “proudly NSW-based” and 100 per cent Australian owned, said The Hills of Gold Wind Farm was an important project for the local community and for NSW’s energy transition.

“We are pleased this legal case has come to an end,” said Mead.

“After a prolonged period of uncertainty, we look forward to taking the time to engage with the Nundle community and local stakeholders, before providing an update on next steps for the project.

“It is worth noting that the proposed Hills of Gold Wind Farm remains essentially as approved by the IPC following these legal proceedings,” Mead adds. “In fact, the road upgrades now required under the Court’s approval are in some cases less extensive than those originally mandated by the IPC.”

The NSW government has recently moved to stop similar court actions against the IPC decisions should it give approval to another three wind projects that it is currently assessing.

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