The group said it had elected to take the unprecedented step of lodging a formal objection to plans by Spanish-Australian firm EPYC to develop the farm near Canberra because it did not consider that the proposal had been developed to a level where it would benefit the wider community.

 

The group said the project had poor community engagement and consultation, and it needed to voice its concerns so that future developments received community support.

 

The $300 million proposal, which started seeking its environmental approvals in 2015, has upset many residents in the town of Tarago, and is being opposed by the Queanbeyan-Palerang Council.

 

The wind farm would consist of 88 turbines measuring 173 metres in height, making it one of the largest in the state.

 

The AWA said it did not object to the idea of a wind farm in the area, or the benefits it would bring, but it said community engagement had been lacking.  

 

The alliance's submission stated the proponent's "lack of flexibility and poor communications have unnecessarily raised the ire of many local residents".

 

New South Wales planning authorities, who are studying the application, said Jupiter had attracted more submissions than any NSW renewables project so far. 

 

Some 600 submissions were received by the NSW Department of Planning during the public comment period, of which just 38 were supportive. 

 

That compares starkly with other nearby wind farm proposals for Bango, Biala, Crookwell, Crudine Ridge and Collector which received fewer than 150 submissions.

 

Submissions pointed to flaws in the environmental assessment of noise and visual impacts and ignoring local planning controls. 

 

NSW Planning and Environment will assess the submissions and determine whether the proposal will be approved to progress in the coming weeks.

 

The proposal would see the 350 megawatt wind farm built just 5km outside the town.

 

The proposed development area consists of extensively cleared farm land and hill formations, predominantly used for grazing with isolated lots used for personal cropping, close to the existing TransGrid 330kV transmission line.

 

The field's earlier designs required 110 turbines, but it has been scaled back since EPYC started consultations in 2012.

 

AWA's rejection of the Jupiter proposal came on the same day the group criticised the NSW government for advising the developer of the Rye Park Wind Farm to slash the number of turbines to prioritise aesthetics before regional jobs.

 

The state has asked that the project be scaled back by 25 turbines to 84 in order to maintain the rural character of the local village near Yass. 

 

AWA national co-ordinator Andrew Bray said building clean energy projects in regional NSW that drive new investment and jobs should be the priority, not aesthetics.  

 

"Focusing on how wind farms look and ignoring what they do for the state is poor planning," Bray said.

 

"This wind farm promises to employ 370 people in construction and pump $49 million into the local economy in its current form. Why put all that at risk because the project may impact some peoples' views?

 

"Cutting the number of turbines by 25 will cut $62,500 from the community enhancement fund each year while farmers will miss out on $375,000 a year. 

 

"The project has already been reduced from 126 turbines to 109 to address environmental and amenity concerns while maintaining the viability of the project."

 

Bray said the state's electricity system is outdated and in dire need of a reboot, as last month's near-blackout showed.   

 

"It doesn't make sense to severely limit the amount of clean energy this wind farm can produce at a time when we need more clean energy to replace the country's ageing, dirty coal-fired power stations. The 25 turbines the department is proposing to cut would power 30,000 additional homes."