Protesters on the site of a planned wind farm may have won their battle, with the NSW Government shelving plans for the facility near Goulburn and the company in charge citing “land security” issues.

The planning application for the 100-turbine Golspie wind farm, lodged by renewable energy developer Wind Prospect CWP, has been moved to the bottom of the pile. The company has cited "wind resource, land security and grid connection issues" as reasons for the interruption.

Mr Maurice Newman was part of the protests, he is the former head of the Australian Securities Exchange, a local landholder and if the Coalition wins the next election, he will be head of a new business advisory council to the Liberal party. Mr Newman opposes wind farms and has pledged to lobby against subsidies for them. Newman believes that fluctuations in output from renewable energy sources have increased power costs for consumers by requiring the construction of expensive backup generators.

"What the present government has done is decide we should make Australia less competitive by lifting the price of electricity,” Mr Newman said, “therefore, if there is a change of government, I'm sure that any business council that I chair will be of a mind to restore Australia's international competitiveness."

Currently, the Government’s Renewable Energy Target aims for 20 per cent of electricity to be generated from renewable sources by 2020. The Coalition will review the plan if it wins the election, and could rely on Mr Newman's advice to scrap the target. Climate Change Minister Mark Butler said the system was working; "Labor stands by our unprecedented investment in clean, renewable energy which is driving a transformation of the Australian economy with a 30 per cent increase in renewable energy generation in the last 12 months and a 7 per cent drop in carbon pollution in the national electricity market," he said.