Victoria signs off on 219-turbine Warracknabeal energy project
Federal approval is still required for the proposed wind farm, which WestWind Energy says could power 1.2 million homes.
A proposal to build Australia's largest wind farm has passed its last Victorian approval hurdle. Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny has signed off on WestWind Energy's Warracknabeal Energy Park, with final checks now resting with the federal environment minister.
The development would spread 219 turbines over 26,000 hectares of farmland west of Warracknabeal, north of Horsham. The location is more than 300 kilometres from Melbourne to the north-west. WestWind also proposes two battery storage systems with a capacity of 300 megawatts each.
WestWind said the park would generate 1.5 gigawatts of renewable energy, enough for 1.2 million homes. The construction phase is expected to provide close to 950 jobs.
Kilkenny's decision followed approval of the environmental impact report five months earlier. It also came about three weeks before the Labor government begins its caretaker period for the November state election.
The Environment Effects Statement process started in 2024 and received 70 community responses. Thirty were broadly positive, pointing to employment, community development and sustainability. A similar number expressed concerns about the landscape, pressure on housing, worker accommodation and potential harm to plants and animals.
Craig Henderson, a farmer who owned land intended for the turbines, backed the development. He said any accommodation provided for construction staff should deliver longer-term community benefits, such as retirement villages and infrastructure.
