West Vic farmers set to host wind project capable of powering 1.2 million homes

Thirty-five farmers in Victoria’s west are a step closer to hosting the largest wind farm in the Southern Hemisphere after the state planning minister signed off on the Environmental Effects Statement (EES) for the 219-turbine project.

A big investment: The Warracknabeal Energy Park would deliver more than 1.5 gigawatts of renewable energy annually - enough to power up to 1.2 million homes and supply 12.5 percent of Victoria’s future energy needs. 

• Planning minister Sonia Kilkenny said in a statement last week the project could create almost 950 jobs during construction, alongside ongoing operational roles once complete.

Environmental process: The process for renewable energy developments completing an EES statement includes technical studies, community consultation and a public inquiry.

“This rigorous EES process has shown this project can go ahead while meeting Victoria’s environmental standards,” Kilkenny said.

Opinion vs fact: The project’s milestone coincided with unchecked claims published in mainstream media about government subsidies for the ways large-scale renewable energy projects are funded.

• In coverage by ABC News, Wimmera Mallee Environmental and Agricultural Protection Association president Ross Johns claimed wind farms required between $850,000 and $1 million per turbine each year in government support to remain viable.

• Applied to the Warracknabeal project, that figure would amount to between roughly $186 million and $219 million annually.

WestWind responds: WestWind energy, the company behind the development, rejected the figures outright, saying they did not reflect how Australia’s energy market operates.

“The claim that wind farms require ‘$850,000 to $1,000,000 per turbine per year of government support to operate and function’ is incorrect and not supported by how Australia’s energy market operates,” it said in a statement to the Brolga.

No subsidies here: WestWind said it did not receive government subsidies to operate wind farms and said there were “no mechanisms in Australia that provide ongoing per-turbine payments of the kind described”.

“Wind farms generate revenue by selling electricity into the National Electricity Market, just like any other generator,” the statement said.

Real motive: While renewable energy projects can access schemes like renewable energy certificates, WestWind said these were designed to encourage investment in new energy generation, rather than provide ongoing taxpayer funding to keep wind farms running day to day.

• The company also pointed to the CSIRO’s GenCost analysis, which has consistently identified onshore wind and solar as Australia’s lowest-cost forms of new electricity generation since 2018 - which “would not be the case if projects required large ongoing subsidies to operate”.

The development still needs Commonwealth approval under the national environmental laws before a final decision is made.