The largest wind farm in the Southern Hemisphere has gone live.

The Victorian Government has announced that the Golden Plains Wind Farm has commenced operation and is now feeding power into the state’s energy grid after the first turbines to be installed began spinning last week.

Located on 16,739 hectares at Rockwood about 60km north-east of Geelong, the $ 4billion development is set to become the largest wind farm in Australia and indeed in the Southern Hemisphere.

Once complete in 2027, it will have an installed capacity of more than 1.3 MW and will be capable of producing more than 4,000 GWh of renewable energy each year – around 9 percent of Victoria’s current energy demand.

The farm will provide sufficient power for more than 765,000 homes – the equivalent of every home in regional Victoria.

It will save more than 4.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide from being emitted into the atmosphere annually. This is equivalent to 3 percent of Victoria’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The wind turbines will be supported by a 300MW battery storage facility that will soak up any excess energy and export it back to the grid when needed.

The farm is being constructed in two stages.

Work on the 756 MW first stage commenced last year and will be complete in 2026.

Construction of the 574 MW second stage started in June and will be complete in 2027.

All up, the project has approval for 228 turbines, with 215 turbines being envisaged under the current design.

Advances in technology will see the latest generation of 165m rotors generate around 10-14 percent more electricity without exceeding a 230m tip height.

An estimated 700 jobs will be created during construction whilst around 70 ongoing operational jobs are envisaged.

The latest development comes as Victoria aims to generate 95 percent of its energy through renewable sources by 2035.

All up the Government estimates that these efforts will deliver $9.5 billion in economic activity and will generate 59,000 jobs.

Victorian Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio welcomed the latest development.

“The Golden Plains Wind Farm will be able to power every regional Victorian home – delivering lower bills for Victorian families.” De Ambrosio said.

“Victoria is 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.”

The project’s first stage is owned by Ingka Group (owner of IKEA) and renewable energy provider Tag Energy.

Tag Energy is the sole owner of the second stage.

 

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