An application for a planning permit for the Gelliondale Wind Farm project has now been submitted to the Victorian Government.
The proposed project will consist of 13 wind turbines across 1500 hectares of cleared agricultural land and ancillary infrastructure including a battery energy storage system and substation.
The site is approximately 7 kilometres south-west of Yarram, 3 kilometres west of Alberton and 8 kilometres east of Welshpool.
Synergy Wind is developing the project with support from RWE Renewables Australia, the fourth largest renewable energy generator in the world with 9.5GW of renewable energy assets worldwide.
The wind farm will have a total capacity of about 80 megawatts and generate about 300,000 megawatt hours of renewable energy annually. This equates to enough electricity to power up to 37,000 homes with clean renewable energy each year.
It will create approximately 50 jobs during construction as well as about 10 ongoing permanent positions and deliver an annual carbon dioxide reduction of 320,000 tonnes.
The planning permit application follows a referral to the Federal Government under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
“We are pleased to have submitted our application for a planning permit for the Gelliondale Wind Farm following detailed planning and technical investigations and environmental assessments,” said Synergy Wind managing director Adam Gray.
“The full suite of supporting studies accompanying the application are now available on the project website.
“Our engagement with neighbouring properties and the broader community has been robust and we look forward to continuing to provide updates as we move through the planning permit application process.”
Gelliondale Wind Farm is committed to sharing the benefits of the project with the community in a number of ways. A draft Gelliondale Wind Farm Community Benefit Program has been developed for consultation with the community and other stakeholders.
As part of its commitment, Gelliondale Wind Farm will establish a grants program to support local landholders neighbouring the site as well as community projects.
The fund will distribute between $160,000 and $240,000 a year among neighbours and community organisations.
Updates on the assessment processes will be published on the Gelliondale Wind Farm website with links to relevant government resources provided as soon as they are established.
Media contact for further information:
Adam Gray
E: adam.gray@exceed-energy.com.au
T: 0438 418 103