The Andrews Labor Government is flicking the switch on a major new wind farm and battery project in the state’s west, the Bulgana Green Power Hub.

Leading renewables producer Neoen has commenced full-scale commercial operations of the hub near Stawell, which combines a 204 MW wind farm utilising Siemens-Gamesa turbines with a 20 MW/34 MWh Tesla battery.

The $350 million Bulgana Green Power Hub was made possible through a 15-year Support Agreement between the Victorian Government and Neoen, which includes an annual $120,000 Community Benefit Fund to support local community-building and sustainability initiatives.

This project created 150 construction jobs and can now generate more than 750,000 MWh of cheap, clean energy annually – enough to power around 150,000 homes.

This project is part of the state’s accelerating transition to clean energy, contributing to Victoria’s target of 50 per cent renewables by 2030 and capping off a record surge in renewable output for the state.

Renewable generation in Victoria has jumped by more than 3.2 TWh in 2021, beating Victoria’s last state record of a 2.2 TWh increase from 2019 to 2020. This is the largest annual increase in renewable electricity generation recorded by an Australian state.

To date, Victoria’s share of renewable electricity generation sits at 32.4 per cent for 2021, a surge from 22.7 per cent in 2019 and 26.6 per cent in 2020, when the state exceeded its legislated renewable energy target of 25 per cent.

The Labor Government is leading the way in renewables, this year we opened the biggest battery in the southern hemisphere – Neoen’s 300-megawatt Victorian Big Battery and kickstarted Australia’s offshore wind industry with a $40 million for three major development proposals – Star of the South, Macquarie Group and Flotation Energy.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio

“The Bulgana Green Power Hub is another giant step towards Victoria becoming the renewable energy capital of Australia and achieving our target to halve our emissions by 2030.”

“We are also proud to achieve Australia’s largest ever annual increase in renewable power, a testament to Victoria’s leadership on clean energy and climate change.”

“The renewable energy industry will boost power supply and reliability, create new local jobs across Victoria and drive down energy prices.”