Victoria awards 623 MW of solar plus 600 MWh of storage

The government of Victoria, Australia, today announced the winners in its second renewable energy auction, designating 623 MW of solar and 365 MW/600 MWh of energy storage projects to be developed across four Renewable Energy Zones (REZ).

The successful projects in the Second Victorian Renewable Energy Target (VRET2), launched in September 2021, will altogether result in the production of close to 1,460 GWh of renewable electricity annually, equal to the power consumption of some 300,000 households. The awards cover six photovoltaic (PV) and four large-scale battery schemes, which will receive 10-year support.

The proposed capacity will be installed across four zones in Western Victoria, the Murray River, Central North and Gippsland. Minister for Energy Lily D’Ambrosio noted that the winning schemes will open 920 direct jobs and will bring AUD 1.48 billion (USD 948.4m/EUR 967.8m) in investment.

Through the VRET auctions, the Aussie state seeks to support its goal for 100% renewable electricity for government operations by 2025, as well as the statewide target of 50% of renewables by 2030. The awarded storage projects, meanwhile, will help the state double its current battery storage capacity and back the recently unveiled targets for an energy storage fleet of 2.6 GW by 2030 and 6.3 GW by 2035.

In the first round of the programme, Victoria selected projects totalling 928 MW -- three wind farms with a combined capacity of 673.5 MW and three solar farms totalling 254.6 MW.

(AUD 1.0 = USD 0.641/EUR 0.654)

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