AWA was pleased to see news of a new battery-boosted wind farm proposed in South West Victoria. If successful, it will be located at an existing pine plantation between Portland and Nelson, close to the South Australian border.
The project's benefit program will be designed in close consultation with the community and could include features such as community enhancement funds, green energy subsidies or potentially co-investment. It reflects a growing level of maturity across the wind energy industry, with other recent projects placing community engagement and benefit sharing as central features in their project design from the outset of consultation.
The $1 billion project will also lead to jobs in the construction and ongoing jobs in the region.
The proposed Kentbruck Green Power Hub plans to install 157 wind turbines providing 900MW of clean, emission free renewable energy to the grid. This could save 3.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions per year and power 500,000 homes with renewable energy.
Alongside Kentbruck, the Delburn and Hexham Wind Farm projects have also been announced in the last fortnight. Together, these three Victorian projects would add a total capacity of 1900 megawatts, which is more than the recently retired Hazelwood power station. This is the energy transition we need, moving away from polluting fossil fuels to clean energy.
The Delburn Wind Farm and Hexham Wind Farms have also outlined generous benefit sharing models that continue in the spirit of the Victorian Government's guidance around community engagement in the Victorian Renewable Energy Auction Scheme (VREAS). This suggests that the VREAS guidelines are having a continued and welcomed benefit beyond the VREAS projects.
More information - www.kentbruckgreenpowerhub.com.au - make your voice heard by completing the online survey and attending the community drop in sessions:
Nelson Community Drop-In Session
Date: Monday, April 15
Time: 2pm – 7pm
Venue: CFA Hall
Event: Portland Community Drop-In Session
Date: Tuesday, April 16
Time: 2pm – 7pm
Venue: Supper Room at the Civic Hall