Origin yesterday announced it had dropped plans to put up 19 wind turbines at Smeaton.

Wind farm opponents welcomed the news and said a "big party'' would be held to celebrate.

Resident Richard Evans, whose property was closest to the proposed wind farm site at the Tuki Trout Farm, said he was happy the issue had finally been closed.

"I just thought it was a waste of taxpayers' money,'' Mr Evans said.

"Economically it doesn't stack up. It would have been paid for by consumers paying three times as much for power that was intermittent and couldn't be relied upon.

"It wasn't so much a visual thing.

"If you want to stop burning coal, you're not going to do it with wind.''

Origin Energy spokesman Scott Hargreaves said three years of testing had shown there was not enough wind at Smeaton to justify the project.

He said Origin would instead focus on other wind sites in the region, including Stockyard Hill and the nearby Lexton project.

"Origin will finalise the community-engagement program with a newsletter and discussions with local landowners and community members over coming weeks,'' Mr Hargreaves said.

Resident and wind-farm opponent Will Elsworth said opposition to the project had steadily grown since it was proposed in 2007.

"There was a lot of support for us within Hepburn Shire and across Victoria,'' Mr Elsworth said.

"A lot of phones rang off the hook when it was first proposed.''

However, Mr Evans' father Leigh said the fact the wind farm was going to be built on some of the most significant volcanic cones in Australia had also prompted a lot of concern.

"A lot of people were wondering why these cones should be covered with turbines when they're not even saving greenhouse gases.''

Meanwhile, Ballarat City Council yesterday led a delegation of Central Highlands mayors and chief executive officers asking for a stronger local government role in wind-farm developments.

Ballarat Mayor Judy Verlin said there needed to be more of a partnership between local and state governments when it came to wind-farm proposals.

"We have put a proposal to the minister today for a scheme which would see each participating municipality pay a levy per wind turbine,'' Cr Verlin said.

"That money would be used to help fund the creation of a specialised regional resource which would have the necessary powers, knowledge and expertise to handle enforcement of wind turbine-related issues on behalf of participating councils in our region.''