Australia, Projects, Renewables, Wind

Victoria’s Golden Plains Wind Farm goes live

Wind Farm

Victoria has reached a major renewable energy milestone with the powering up of the Golden Plains Wind Farm at Rokewood.

The 1.3 gigawatt (GW) facility has begun feeding into the state’s electricity grid, providing cheap and reliable renewable energy to Victorian homes and businesses.

Victoria’s Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D’Ambrosio announced the commencement of operations at the massive wind farm, which will be capable of powering 765,000 homes – equivalent to every home in regional Victoria – once fully operational.

When complete, the Golden Plains Wind Farm is expected to produce more than 4000 gigawatt hours (GWh) of energy each year, meeting an impressive 9 percent of Victoria’s current energy demand.

The project also includes a 300 megawatt (MW) battery system on site, designed to store excess energy and export it back to the grid during periods of high demand.

The wind farm’s construction created about 700 jobs, and it will generate up to 70 full-time ongoing positions once operational.

The Labor Government claimed it has driven a significant expansion of renewable energy in Victoria, with the amount of power generated by wind farms more than quadrupling since 2014.

The share of electricity generated by renewables has surged from less than 10 percent to 39 percent last year.

The State Government said it has met every renewable energy and climate change target set to date and is on track to hit 40 percent renewables by 2025 and an ambitious 95 percent by 2035.

Meeting Victoria’s renewable energy generation and energy storage targets is expected to deliver a substantial economic boost, with projections of $9.5 billion in economic activity and the creation of 59,000 jobs.

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