Work is now underway on Victoria’s $276 million Berrybank Wind Farm, which will feature 43 turbines and generate enough energy to power around 138,000 homes.
Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, Lily D’Ambrosio, joined Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews, and Member for Buninyong, Michaela Settle, on 21 June to mark the start of major construction on the project.
“This is an exciting next step in driving down energy prices, reducing carbon emissions and creating jobs as we work towards our renewable energy target of 50 per cent by 2030,” Ms D’Ambrosio said.
The extensive project will be built by Global Power Generation (Naturgy Energy Group) and will boost renewable energy supply, as Victoria moves towards the government’s renewable energy target of 50 per cent by 2030.
The 180MW wind farm will provide a major boost to the local economy, delivering 213 construction jobs and 24 apprenticeships, with wind turbine assembly set to recommence in Australia for the first time in ten years.
The brand-new Vestas Renewable Energy Hub on the former Ford site in Geelong will build the turbines for this project, which will be underpinned by 64 per cent local content under the Government’s Victorian Industry Participation Policy.
To support ongoing turbine maintenance, wind turbine technician training will also be delivered in Ballarat by Federation University.
Berrybank Wind Farm was made possible through the government’s Victorian Renewable Energy Target (VRET) reverse auction, which will see more than 900MW of new clean energy developed – almost 45 per cent more generation capacity than anticipated – helping to drive down energy prices for Victorian families.
Together, these projects under the reverse auction will generate over $1.1 billion in economic investment and create more than 900 jobs, including 270 apprenticeships and traineeships in regional Victoria.
It is expected that achieving the VRET 2025 target of 40 per cent alone will drive around $7.2 billion of investment and create more than 10,000 jobs, as we boost the amount of energy generated by renewable sources.
The Berrybank Wind Farm is expected to commence operations in late 2020.
