Wind Energy

The Victorian Government is committed to growing the renewable energy sector, recognising that renewable energy can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide a sustainable supply of energy.

Victoria has world-class wind resources and the technology to harvest energy from wind is well-proven and is being widely used around the world to provide reliable supplies of energy.

The Victorian Wind Atlas provides detailed information about the State’s wind resource in individual local government areas. It contains data and analysis about the wind resource in Victoria, proximity to electricity transmission systems. To order the Wind Atlas, email info@sustainability.vic.gov.au.

Currently Victoria has capacity for around 190MW of wind power generation. View the list of operational and approved wind energy projects in Victoria . Wind energy has the potential to provide a significant proportion of Victoria's growth in renewable energy generation over the next ten years.

Research shows that the production of electricity from wind results in less burning of fossil fuels. Each megawatt hour of wind energy generated in Victoria currently avoids the generation, on average, of one tonne of greenhouse gas emissions. A typical two megawatt wind turbine in Victoria will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 6,000 tonnes per year.

An increase in wind energy developments will also offer significant economic and employment growth, particularly in regional areas.

The Victorian Government has produced the Policy and planning guidelines for development of wind energy facilities in Victoria to ensure the appropriate development of Victoria's wind resource in a way that balances environmental, economic and social outcomes. The Guidelines provide a clear decision making framework to ensure that proposals for wind energy facilities are thoroughly assessed against criteria important to both proponents and the community before development can commence.

Visit Sustainability Victoria (external link) to download a copy of the Guidelines or download the Wind energy – the Myths and the Facts Guide (external link).

Note: You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the PDF via the Wind energy – the Myths and the Facts Guide link. A free copy can be downloaded from Adobe Acrobat (external link).