Council
14 October, 2025
Wind farm proponents disregarding community views: Yass Valley Council
Yass Valley Council is continuing to stand firm on the issue of renewable energy projects with further accusations that community views are being disregarded.
Yass Valley Council is continuing to stand firm on the issue of renewable energy projects with further accusations that community views are being disregarded.
Council resolved unanimously at its September meeting to send a mayoral letter of objection over plans to lodge a scoping report early next year for a proposed 90 x 260 metre wind turbine project 20k from Yass.
Council has been advised by Wind Prospect – the scoping partner for construction company Mint Renewables – that it plans to lodge a scoping report for the proposed ‘Bendenine’ project with the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI) in early 2026.
Council has described plans to lodge the scoping report between January and March as “highly inappropriate” in a bushfire prone community, claiming it disregards community views.
The mayoral letter will be sent to the proponents as well as the appropriate approval departments.
Council will also seek a meeting with the Australian Energy Commissioner and the NSW Energy and Planning Ministers “detailing the impact on our community and council resources (of the proposed wind farm) to date along with the future impact on our community well-being of a project progressing during our highest bushfire danger season and for some farming families who are still in the shearing cycle”.
While use of land for a wind farm near the villages of Binalong and Bowning is prohibited under the Yass Valley Council LEP, the proposed project is a State Significant Development (SSD) and council will not be the consent authority.
Council already has a policy position that Yass Valley is at capacity for turbine projects given the social, economic and environmental impacts of the six projects that have already been approved and are under construction.
Council says there is a “concerning power imbalance” during the scoping phase for SSD projects with proponents making the most of foreign investment and industry experts.
In comparison, it says, community members are left “scrambling into voluntary action groups at the last minute, using up valuable personal productivity and family time”.
In addition, it says, small rural non-REZ councils receive no funding from the State Government to support staff, pay for legal advice, independent reports or to hire consultants “to augment our already burdened staff”.
While some national media outlets have reported the Bendenine project is on hold, recent correspondence from Wind Prospect shows that is not the case.
A letter from Wind Prospect dated September 2025 has advised council that since the project was announced in April this year the project team has been “engaging with the local community and stakeholders to get the scoping report ready for lodgement”.
Lodgement of the scoping report is the first step in the NSW planning process for SSDs.
Wind Prospect says it had originally intended to lodge the scoping report in mid-2025 but had made a decision to postpone lodging it until early next year “based on consultation with the community, stakeholders and the consultants carrying out the early investigations”.
It acknowledges the proposed wind farm may “feel like added pressure” on local residents or something that is out of their control and has responded by establishing the Bendenine Wind Farm social well-being program, a free and confidential phone-based service staffed by qualified psychologists and delivered by Rural Health Connect.
It has also acknowledged there has been a significant amount of community interest in the project – including stories in local and national media outlets – and says the project team will continue to engage with near neighbours, local communities and stakeholders through established communication channels.
It is encouraging people wanting more information about the project to visit the project website at www.bendeninewindfarm.com.au
While there is no formal public exhibition or submission process during the scoping phase of the project, the scoping report will be made available on the NSW Planning Portal once it has been lodged. Members of the public will be able to view the document and provide feedback directly to the project team or DPHI.
Cr Fleur Flanery said council should be using stronger language and that it should ask the proponents not to lodge a scoping report at all rather than to lodge it at a different time of the year.
She said the community didn’t want the windfarm and council should be “much more forthright” given the proponents were disregarding community views.
The proposed windfarm will be located approximately 20km northwest of Yass and is expected to include up to 90 turbines as well as a Battery Energy Storage System.
Wind Prospect claims on its website that it is “working closely with landowners, neighbours, local councils and community groups to understand the region’s interests, concerns and aspirations”.
Read More: Southern Tablelands, Yass