“Gippsland has the potential to become the newest renewable energy hub in Victoria, with utility-scale solar, wind, battery storage and potentially clean hydrogen,” Assistant Minister to the Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Tim Wilson said.
The Australian Government, through the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), will finance up to $8.5 million in a joint venture with Octopus Australia to develop a renewable energy park in Gippsland.
The Gippsland Renewable Energy Park will help accelerate the region’s uptake of clean energy and bolster power supply to the National Electricity Market.
Assistant Minister Wilson said the project is another example of how the Morrison Government is building Australia’s industrial future as part of our journey to carbon neutrality by 2050.
“The Gippsland Renewable Energy Park will set the benchmark for future clean energy infrastructure projects,” said Assistant Minister Wilson.
“The Park will be home to large-scale clean energy projects with the construction and development of the 3,000-hectare site creating up to 400 jobs in the region.”
Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester said supporting local jobs was an important focus.
“We have many skilled workers in our energy sector and it is important we ensure their skills can be utilised in new areas,” Mr Chester said.
“This is also an important step in keeping the energy sector in our region where the knowledge and experience is and ensuring that the Latrobe Valley and Gippsland are not forgotten about.”
The CEFC and Octopus Australia joint venture portfolio includes the recent acquisition of the 44 MW Perry Bridge and 80 MW Fulham solar farm development projects in the Gippsland region.
Octopus Group, of which Octopus Australia is a subsidiary, is one of the world’s largest investors in clean energy with more than $6 billion deployed across more than 300 projects across the UK, Europe and in Australia.