Victorian court quashes last-ditch legal bid to block contested wind farm

Plans to build a 97MW wind farm just outside the Victorian Western District town of Hawkesdale will go ahead, after a fresh legal attempt to block the development was quashed in court.

The project, which is being developed by Global Power Generation, has been subject to a number of legal challenges led by a small local cohort called the People of the Small Town of Hawkesdale Incorporated.

The fight against the wind farm, which was motivated by concerns around the proximity to the town of some of the up to 26 turbines, sought to overturn a decision made by the Victorian planning minister to extend the planning permit for the project to 2023.

The case did not make it to trial, however, after Supreme Court justice Melinda Richards ruled in August of 2021 that the planning permit extension was valid and also, notably, that group did not have the legal standing to bring the proceeding.

This week, the Victorian Court of Appeal rejected the group’s subsequent attempt to have Justice Richards’ decision overturned, with three Supreme Court judges determining the planning permit condition as valid with no errors.

In a statement Global Power Generation, a joint venture majority-owned by Spain-based Naturgy Energy Group, previously known as Union Fenosa, welcomes the court’s decision.

“GPG is pleased with the decision of the Court of Appeal. We will continue to work with the community and stakeholders on this project,” a spokesperson told RenewEconomy.

GPG announced in December of 2020 that it had locked in a power purchase deal for Hawkesdale with US online retail giant Amazon and signed up Danish giant Vestas as the project’s turbine supplier and EPC partner.

The project has also been backed by a “landmark” payment deferral facility led by Vestas offering vital short-term financial support at the riskiest part of a renewable energy project – construction.