GEELONGPORT is among those to applaud the announcement by the Victorian government of its decision to pursue a giant wind farm in the state’s northwest.
State planning minister Sonya Kilkenny recently signed off on the environment effects statement (EES) for the Warracknabeal Energy Park, allowing for the process of approving the 219-turbine wind farm to proceed to the next stage.
A spokesperson for GeelongPort said they welcomed “investment in projects that are helping to accelerate Victoria’s energy transition”.
“Geelong is strongly positioned to support the reliable, efficient delivery of Victoria’s onshore and offshore wind projects and critical energy transmission infrastructure at scale,” the spokesperson said.
The wind farm, meanwhile. is expected to deliver more than 1.5 gigawatts of renewable energy; what the government says is enough to power up to 1.2 million homes.
The project is expected to become the highest producing wind facility in Victoria and generate around 12.5% of the entire state’s future energy needs.
The Warracknabeal Energy Park has gone through Victoria’s EES process, including technical studies, community consultation and a public inquiry.
Further approvals are still required before a final decision is made, including Commonwealth approval under national environmental laws.
“This is a major step towards delivering the biggest wind farm in the Southern Hemisphere, right here in Victoria,” Ms Kilkenny said.
“This rigorous EES process has shown this project can go ahead while meeting Victoria’s environmental standards.”
Energy and resources minister Lily D’Ambrosio said the project would be “a massive boost to Victoria’s renewable energy capacity – powering more than one million homes with cheaper, cleaner energy”.
GeelongPort is itself developing up to 25 hectares of land at its Oyster Cove site and will build a new offshore wind farm terminal (the Geelong Renewables Terminal) to support Victoria’s growing renewables sector.
The Victorian government has also selected the Port of Hastings on the Mornington Peninsula as the preferred location for the establishment of the Victorian Renewable Energy Terminal, a dedicated assembly port to support the construction of Victoria's first offshore wind farms.