Victoria Moving Ahead On Three New Wind Farms With Nearly 400 MW Capacity
The Australian state of Victoria will soon see development on three new wind farms totaling nearly 400 MW, according to various reports.
According to New Zealand renewable energy developer Trustpower, it has been granted planning approval for the 300 MW Dundonnel Wind Farm, a community-driven project initiated in 2008 by a group of land owners who intended to develop a wind farm on their property. Trustpower announced on Wednesday that the Victorian Government had granted planning approval “after an extensive and comprehensive assessment process.”
“We commend the government for this plan and its support of the renewable energy sector, which will bring jobs, economic investment and environmental benefits to Victoria,” said Trustpower Chief Executive Vince Hawksworth. “We support the government’s zero emissions plan for 2050 and look forward to contributing to this plan through the potential development of the Dundonnell Wind Farm.”
The Dundonnel Wind Farm will be made up of up to 104 wind turbines with a total generation capacity of up to 270 MW.
In addition to the Trustpower news, the Victorian Government also announced a tender to support two new wind farms.
The two projects will be located in Mt Gellibrand and Kiata, and will be developed respectively by ACCIONA Energy and Windlab. The Kiata Wind Farm is being developed near Horsham, in Victoria, and upon completion will have a total capacity of 30 MW, and will generate enough clean energy to provide for over 20,000 households. The Mt Gellibrand Wind Farm, located near Colac, is to have an expected capacity of 132 MW, and generate enough electricity for 100,000 households.
“We can build a strong, sustainable renewable energy industry that powers our broader economy, creates well paid jobs and reduces our environmental impact,” said Victorian Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio. “We’re proud to be rebuilding much needed confidence in the renewable energy industry following the neglect of Liberal governments at both state and federal levels over recent years.”
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Now that the Coalition government is weak after Australia’s recent federal election, we are likely to see more renewable energy capacity being built as the Coal-ition may not be strong enough to destroy our Renewable Energy Target.
News of renewable projects gaining approval from the authorities is always welcome.
However the problem for renewable energy in Australia is more to do with lack of PPAs for renewable projects. There are dozens of wind and solar projects with a combined capacity of 10,500 MW that have planning approval but are yet to take off the ground simply because without PPAs they are not bankable.
I’d really like to see the 3 utilities actually signing some of those to push renewable growth down under soon.