Plans have been submitted by Origin Energy for a new wind farm, to be called Stockyard Hill Wind Farm, to the west of Ballarat. The wind farm proposal is for a 242-turbine wind farm to be constructed on land encompassing the area about 5km south of Beaufort, south to 4km north of Skipton, centred around Stockyard Hill. The wind farm, if it goes ahead will be capable of a maximum capacity of 484 MW of electricity.

Based on studies conducted by Garrad Hassan, Stockyard Hill Wind Farm is estimated to have a capacity factor of 44.6%. Using this figure it is anticipated that 1.89 TWh (terawatt hours, or 1,890,000 MWh) of electricity could be produced every year, based on a long term average forecast.

Over the long term, this amount of electricity generation is the equivalent to providing for over 270,000 dwellings, or approximately 21% of Melbourne homes or more than 8 times the homes in Ballarat, per year.

The opportunity for Origin to go forward with this project came about when the company purchased Wind Power, Pty Ltd which came with a high quality portfolio of wind projects.

The project is expected to have a capital cost of $1.4 billion and landowners will be paid a total of $70 million over the life of a 25-year agreement. Also, the Pyrenees Shire will receive $475,000 per annum.

The actual final decision on the size and the layout of the wind farm will be dependent on the review findings.

The early indications are that this wind farm will not be a popular addition to the local landscape by residents who are already fuming over the lack of disclosure of details about the project. Currently, the application is being reviewed by the Department of Planning, Community and Development and it is said to be publicly available in the coming months.