Victoria to begin constructing Golden Plains wind farm

Victoria’s Golden Plains Shire wind farm will soon be under construction, supporting Victoria’s transition to a clean energy future.

Lily D’Ambrosio, Minister for Energy and Resources, turned the sod on the 215-turbine windfarm site, which will generate 9% of Victoria’s total energy demand when complete, powering over 765,000 homes.

“Victoria’s the clean energy investment capital of Australia, and this project is another example of how Victoria’s ambitious renewable energy policies are creating jobs and driving the renewables sector,” D’Ambrosio said.

The 1300 MW project will be Australia’s largest wind farm and will play a key role in helping meet Victoria’s 95% renewable energy target by 2035 and net zero emissions by 2045.

It will prevent more than 4.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from being emitted to the atmosphere annually — equivalent to 3% of Victoria’s total greenhouse emissions. The project will also create an estimated 700 jobs during construction and 72 ongoing jobs.

The wind farm will feature a 300 MW battery storage facility, making a contribution to the Victorian Renewable Energy Storage Targets of achieving at least 2.6 GW of energy storage capacity by 2030 and 6.3 GW by 2035.

Community engagement on the project will be overseen by a Community Reference Group which will establish a Community Grants Program for not-for-profit community groups.

Image credit: iStock.com/Elias