VicGrid, the Victorian Government body coordinating the development of Victoria's Renewable Energy Zones, is asking communities in the Gippsland and Portland areas to have their say on the future of offshore wind connections in Victoria.
Victoria has some of the best offshore wind resources in the world. For our offshore wind industry to thrive, and to ensure that we have enough new capacity to power the state as ageing coal-fired generators retire, we need new connections to carry this renewable energy to homes and businesses across the state.
VicGrid chief executive Alistair Parker said detailed consultation was essential to ensure new renewable energy sources could connect to our grid while minimising impacts on local communities.
“VicGrid will continue to partner with Traditional Owners, and seek feedback from communities, landholders and stakeholders through a survey and interactive online mapping, along with opportunities to meet with technical specialists to discuss questions and issues,” Mr Parker said.
“We want to understand more about what people value in the areas of interest in Gippsland and around Portland, and encourage local communities and landholders to have their say.”
In this phase of engagement, VicGrid will continue to raise awareness of the Offshore Wind Transmission Development and Engagement Roadmap and of the Draft Options Assessment Method, which has been published on the Engage Victoria website and was based on feedback from the preceding phase.
VicGrid is now seeking feedback on this Draft Options Assessment Method, which is the decision-making tool the Victorian Government will use to assess a range of project options for transmission to coordinate offshore wind.
The Victorian Government has set ambitious targets of at least 2 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind capacity by 2032, 4 GW by 2035 and 9 GW by 2040.
The Australian Government is currently assessing feasibility license applications from offshore wind proponents in Gippsland, Australia’s only declared offshore wind energy area, and successful applicants are expected to be announced later this year. Its consultation for a proposed area off the coast of Portland closes on August 31.
The Victorian Government has tasked VicGrid with coordinating the development of transmission infrastructure to support offshore wind and established Offshore Wind Energy Victoria (OWEV) in January 2023 to coordinate the development of the state’s offshore wind sector.
This second phase of consultation closes August 27 at 11.59pm.
Complete the survey, register for community events and contribute to the interactive mapping community members.
Page last updated: 04/08/23