{"id":6119,"date":"2025-12-23T03:23:18","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T03:23:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=6119"},"modified":"2025-12-23T03:23:18","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T03:23:18","slug":"victoria-to-get-first-publicly-owned-windfarm-with-33-turbine-latrobe-valley-project-victoria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=6119","title":{"rendered":"Victoria to get first publicly owned windfarm with 33-turbine Latrobe valley project | Victoria"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Victoria will have its first publicly owned windfarm after the government\u2019s electricity commission spent $650m on a 33-turbine project in the Latrobe valley.<\/p>\n

Construction of the Delburn windfarm is due to start in early 2026 and climate advocates said the purchase of the project by the State Electricity Commission marked a key turning point for a region known for its privately owned coal plants.<\/p>\n

The commission said the project would be a \u201cbeacon for renewable energy generation investment\u201d in the state\u2019s traditional power generation base, and would produce enough power for 130,000 homes.<\/p>\n

The commission was revived by the Andrews government in 2022<\/a> decades after its power generation assets were privatised.<\/p>\n

The 205-megawatt capacity windfarm, to be delivered by developer OSMI Australia using turbines supplied and installed by Vestas, is expected to be in full operation by 2028.<\/p>\n

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The Victorian government said Delburn was the first windfarm project in the last year to reach financial close and the first publicly owned windfarm in the state.<\/p>\n

Victoria\u2019s energy and climate minister, Lily D\u2019Ambrosio, said the state\u2019s commission \u201cis back, and it\u2019s powering Gippsland\u2019s future after Jeff Kennett sold it off for profits.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said all commission profits would be invested in further renewables projects.<\/p>\n

The purchase of Delburn meant the commission now had more than a gigawatt of renewables projects \u2013 almost a quarter of the way to a 2035 target of 4.5GW renewable generation and storage.<\/p>\n

<\/svg><\/span>The Victorian government\u2019s State Electricity Commission is purchasing a $650 million wind farm project near the Latrobe Valley. Artists Impression<\/span> Illustration: SEC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wendy Farmer, the Gippsland organiser of Friends of the Earth\u2019s Yes2Renewables campaign, said the announcement signalled a new chapter for the region, \u201cone of renewed public ownership, and renewal fairness.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said the 33 turbines would overlook the site of the old Hazelwood coal-fired power station and coalmine.<\/p>\n

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Hazelwood was closed in 2017 and its row of eight 137-metre tall chimney stacks \u2013 a prominent sight on the landscape since the 1960s \u2013 were demolished in 2020.<\/p>\n

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