Wind Farm Approved in Victoria, Australia Would Be Largest in Southern Hemispher

A massive wind farm in the state of Victoria, Australia, has been approved by state authorities, paving the way for the project to go to the federal environment minister for final checks.ABC News reports Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny this week signed off on the Warracknabeal Energy Park, five months after its environmental impact report was approved.WestWind Energy plans to build 219 turbines and install two 300-megawatt battery energy storage systems across 26,000 hectares of farmland in the heart of Victoria’s wheat belt.The site is located in the western part of the state more than 300 kilometers north of the state capital Melbourne.The energy park would deliver 1.5 gigawatts of renewable energy — enough to power 1.2 million homes. If completed, it would be the largest wind farm in Australia and the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere, overtaking the Golden Plains Wind Farm west of Geelong, Victoria, which has 215 turbines and a 1.33-gigawatt capacity.ABC News notes Victoria’s final approval for the Warracknabeal Energy Park was made about three weeks before the Labor government enters caretaker mode ahead of the November state election.The state leads the country with 2,610 megawatts of installed wind capacity, followed closely by South Australia with 2,053 MW. New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania rank third, fourth and fifth, respectively.Renewable energy has grown significantly in Victoria, delivering 44.6% of its electricity generation. Wind occupies around 24% of the total while solar accounts for about 16%.However, the state still needs coal for over half of its electricity (some estimates put it at 61.5-70%), with the power produced by large coal-fired thermal power stations in the Letrobe Valley such as Loy Yang A, Loy Yang B and Yalloum. Natural gas is used to support peak loads.The figures mirror the country’s continued reliance on fossil fuels, with coal representing 42.7% of total generation in 2025 and natural gas making up 16.2%. Renewables comprised 39.6% led by solar (19.7%), wind (14%) and hydroelectric power (4.7%). Australia has no nuclear power stations.Australia is trying to wean itself off coal for domestic electricity generation, despite continuing to support and expand coal mining Indeed, coal accounts for around 34% of Australia's total goods exports.While the federal government under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledges a net-zero future and acknowledges global climate impacts, political parties and fossil fuel subsidies totaling billions of dollars remain heavily tied to keeping the resource and export sector active.The country is gradually shutting down its aging fleet of coal-fired power stations as part of its Net Zero Economy Authority framework. The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) projects that Australia's final domestic coal-fired power plants will close around 2049, though Queensland is delaying some state-owned plant closures.Wind energy is treated as one of the lowest-cost pillars required to replace retiring coal-fired power stations, and is a cornerstone of the federal government’s official target to reach 82% renewable electricity by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050.Australia ranks 12th globally in combined wind and solar power generation share, with wind providing 14% of Australia's total electricity generation (16.4 GW installed capacity) as of recent data.China is the leader by a wide margin with about 640.6 GW, followed by the United States at 158.8 GW, Germany (77.8 GW), India, Brazil, the UK, Spain, Canada and Sweden.By Andrew Topf for Oilprice.comMore Top Reads From Oilprice.comChina’s Sufficient Gas Stocks Could Ease Winter Supply ConcernsData Centers Drive Surge in India’s Renewable Power DemandIran War Set To Push PetroChina’s Trading Profit to Record $3 Billion