New wind farm in north-west Victoria to power 202,000 homes

The Albanese Government has ticked off a new wind farm in Victoria which will generate enough energy to power 202,000 Victorian homes.

The 312 megawatt Wimmera Plains Energy Facility is located 10 kilometres north-east from Horsham and includes up to 52 wind turbines connecting to an existing 220 kilovolt transmission line. The project also includes a 100MW Battery Energy Storage system which can store up to 400 megawatt-hours of dispatchable energy.

This is another big step in the Government’s plan to make Australia a renewable energy superpower.

Under the Liberals and Nationals, 24 coal fired power plants with a total capacity of 26.7 GW announced their closure dates, but the previous government failed to deliver any policy to ensure replacement energy capacity.

At the last election, Australians voted for progress on renewables. That’s exactly what Labor is delivering.

The project will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, which is equivalent to taking more than 370,000 cars off the road each year.

We know projects like this are vital to boosting renewables capacity and putting downward pressure on prices, but they are also great for local jobs and economies. This project will support up to 280 direct jobs in construction and up to 10 ongoing jobs.

Less than one hectare of native navigation will be disturbed as a result of the project. The project demonstrates how good site selection can lead to faster environmental approvals.

Projects need to be placed in the right areas and designed so that their environmental impacts are minimised – as is the case with this wind farm.

Quotes attributable to Minister for the Environment and Water, the Hon Tanya Plibersek MP:

“Labor is getting on with the job of transforming Australia into a renewable energy superpower while Peter Dutton’s so called nuclear plan is threatening investment in renewables.

“I’ve ticked off more than 55 renewable energy projects in two years - enough to power more than three million Australian homes.

“Those renewable energy projects give us more electricity in the two years we have been in office than Peter Dutton’s uncosted and unexplained seven large reactors might produce some 20 years from now.

“Australians have a choice between a renewable energy transition that’s already underway and driving down prices, or paying for an expensive nuclear fantasy that may never happen.”