Victoria to get first publicly owned windfarm with 33-turbine Latrobe valley project | Victoria
Victoria will have its first public wind farm after the government’s Electricity Commission spent $650 million on a 33-turbine project in the Latrobe Valley.
Construction of the Delburn wind farm is expected to begin in early 2026, and climate advocates said the National Electric Commission’s purchase of the project marks a key turning point for a region known for its private coal-fired power plants.
The commission said the project would be a “beacon for investment in renewable energy generation” in the state’s traditional electricity generation base and would produce enough electricity for 130,000 homes.
The commission was relaunched by the Andrews government in 2022, several decades after the privatization of its power generation assets.
The 205 megawatt wind farm, which will be delivered by developer OSMI Australia using turbines supplied and installed by Vestas, is expected to be fully operational by 2028.
The Victorian Government said Delburn was the first wind farm project last year to reach financial close and the state’s first public wind farm.
Victorian Energy and Climate Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said the state commission “is back and powering Gippsland’s future after Jeff Kennett sold it for profit”.
She said all profits from the commissions would be invested in other renewable energy projects.
The Delburn purchase meant the commission now had more than a gigawatt of renewable energy projects, nearly a quarter of the way toward the 2035 goal of 4.5 GW of renewable energy generation and storage.
Wendy Farmer, the Gippsland organizer for Friends of the Earth’s Yes2Renewables campaign, said the announcement marked the start of a new chapter for the region, “one of renewed public ownership and equitable renewal”.
She said the 33 turbines would overlook the site of the former Hazelwood coal-fired power station and coal mine.
Hazelwood was closed in 2017 and its row of eight 137 meter tall chimneys – a prominent feature of the landscape since the 1960s – was demolished in 2020.
“You knew exactly where you were when you saw the Hazelwood stacks,” Farmer said.
“These new wind turbines will be a new marker on the landscape. People will be able to see that this place is changing. Throughout the Latrobe Valley, it will be an icon.”
Commission chief executive Chris Miller said: “The Latrobe Valley has been the driving force of Victoria’s electricity system for over a century, and we believe the region will play a vital role in Victoria’s transition from fossil fuels to a system powered by renewable energy generation, supported by storage. »
The commission said the wind farm would operate for at least 35 years and create more than 300 jobs in the area.
Earlier this month, the commission marked the activation of its Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub, a 600MW battery and the largest to be connected so far to the country’s main eastern grid.
