Berlins Today
NSW second largest wind farm has been given the go ahead. Plans for NSW’s second largest wind farm have been approved for the Riverina with the $2.8 billion project expected to take around four years to build. The Independent Planning Commission reviewed the Baldon Wind Farm proposal and decided to give a conditional approval on Tuesday that aims to reduce adverse environmental impacts.
Specific conditions include paying for damage done to public infrastructure like roads, minimising visual impacts, noise restrictions of 35 decibels, and annual reporting of bird strikes. MORE: Fury over $15b mega data centre in major NSW town The Baldon Wind Farm will be located on flat land primarily used for sheep grazing. Picture: Sean Gallup / Getty Images The Riverina wind farm will be capable of generating around 1,400 megawatts of electricity in ideal conditions and will consist of 175 wind turbines with a ground-to-tip height of up to 300m.
These turbines will be around 100m taller than any other NSW wind farm and only 30m shorter than the Eiffel Tower. The project could deliver mixed outcomes for local homeowners. A landmark 2023 Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study analysing half a million US home sales found that properties within 1.6 km of a turbine had an average value drop of up to 11 per cent after wind farm projects were announced.
This trend was most pronounced in areas on the urban-rural fringe and the impact diminished in communities in deeper rural areas. MORE: New $1.5bn ‘mini city’ to be built in NSW The project is estimated to cost a little over $2.8 billion as of January 2026. Picture: Steven Nowakowski / Rainforest Reserves Australia Comments on local community group pages on social media indicate divided opinion about the wind farm projects in NSW.
One social media user wrote, “looks good – a million times better than a mine or gas field!” while another wrote, “an absolute industrial scar on beautiful pastoral landscapes.” One user asked, “why can’t they erect these tall structures in Sydney?” and another replied, “logistics of taking blades through local streets is simply not possible.” Another user commented, “great. We need renewable energy asap. Congratulations NSW.” The Baldon proposal received 77 official public submissions, with 57 per cent of them from community members or organisations more than 100km away from the area.
The majority of the submissions were regarding environmental, social and economic impacts, decommissioning the farm, and the justification and evaluation of the project. MORE: Aus farmer hit with huge $225,000 fine for illegal land clearing The draft location of Baldon Wind Farm within the shaded area of the South West Renewable Energy Zone. Source: Baldon Wind Farm Scoping Report The Baldon Wind Farm will be located approximately 80km from the NSW-Vic border inside the South West Renewable Energy Zone and is considered a State Significant Development.
The total land area is around 46,000ha but the project is expected to have a construction footprint of only 795ha. The largest wind farm in NSW is Bullawah and was approved for this same precinct in October last year. MORE: ‘Crazy’: Aus man rages at $330/wk rent hike The South West Renewable Energy Zone will be capable of powering 1.6 million homes when complete.
Source: EnergyCo NSW Planning documents suggest the farm will be constructed in two stages that will each take around two years to complete. Stage One is for only 46 turbines with a maximum energy capacity of 368 megawatts. The Baldon Wind Farm website states this capacity, “could generate the equivalent amount of electricity required to power an estimated 280,000 average homes in NSW.” Murray River Council said it is “overall supportive of the proposals”, Edward River Council said it “has no objection”, and Hay Shire Council formally endorsed the project.
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Source: Real Estate
