The Victorian Government takes a significant leap towards powering the State’s public sector infrastructure with renewable energy by delivering six new solar farms.
The new solar farms will power public sector infrastructures like government schools, hospitals, and Melbourne’s metropolitan train and tram network.
Minister for Energy Lily D’Ambrosio today announced the successful projects in Victoria’s second renewable auction, which will lower energy costs for Victorian families, reduce emissions, and generate jobs.
“We’re powering every Government building with cheap, clean renewable energy – boosting investment in the state by over a billion dollars and creating hundreds of jobs as we combat climate change,” Minister D’Ambrosio said.
Six new solar farms will provide 623 MW of new renewable power through the State Government’s second ground-breaking auction, and four large batteries will help Victoria reach its goal of using only renewable energy for all government activities by 2025.
Together, the initiatives will provide almost 1,460 GWh of additional renewable energy annually, or enough to power 300,000 households.
The projects are anticipated to generate $1.48 billion in investment, 920 direct jobs, and 290 roles for apprentices, trainees, and cadets.
Due to the Victorian Government’s strict local content criteria, 200 Australian and New Zealand companies will build and maintain the projects, creating more jobs for enterprises around Victoria.
The State Government added that the projects must also use local suppliers and products to ensure that more of the program’s advantages reach the neighbourhood communities.
With 365 MW and 600 MWh of dispatchable electricity for the grid—equal to the capacity of all the huge batteries now placed in Victoria—four successful battery projects will treble the state’s present storage.
“Victoria is the nation’s clean energy powerhouse — cutting emissions by more than any other state, tripling the amount of renewable energy and creating thousands of jobs,” Minister D’Ambrioso said.
The initiatives will help Victoria meet its new Renewable Energy Storage Targets of 6.3 GW of storage by 2035 and 2.6 GW by 2030.
The auction will also benefit the economy by expanding Victoria’s renewable electricity supply, placing downward pressure on power prices, and assisting in reducing Victoria’s emissions from the energy sector.
The projects will be developed in four Victorian Renewable Energy Zones (REZs) in Western Victoria, the Murray River, Central North, and Gippsland over 10 years.
According to the State Government, Victoria exceeded its first Victorian Renewable Energy Target of 25 per cent renewable electricity by 2020, and it’s on track to meet our remaining objectives of 40 per cent by 2025 and 50 per cent by 2030.
