Environment Victoria has today welcomed the opening of the Macarthur wind farm, describing it as the biggest injection of renewable energy for Victoria since the completion of the Snowy Hydro scheme.
The 420MW Macarthur wind farm almost doubles the amount of wind power being used in Victoria and is a massive wind farm, even by global standards.
Environment Victoria welcomed Premier Napthine’s attendance at the wind farm opening but warned that the Macarthur project would not have gone ahead under the Coalition’s anti-windfarm laws (known as VC82) and that unless Premier Napthine reversed VC82 Victoria would miss out on billions of dollars worth of investment and thousands of jobs in new wind projects.
Environment Victoria Campaigns Director Mark Wakeham said today:
“This massive new wind farm is the biggest injection of renewable energy Victoria has seen since the Snowy scheme for Victoria, with none of the damaging environmental impacts of large hydro power.
“Bringing on-line 420 MW of new wind power will hasten the decline of outdated and polluting brown coal power stations like Hazelwood and Yallourn, and demonstrates that renewable energy is ready to provide for our energy needs at scale.
“We’re glad Premier Napthine is participating in the opening of Macarthur. The Premier knows better than any other MP in the Parliament the investment and jobs benefits of wind power with his electorate hosting more wind power than any other in the state.
“Macarthur wind farm has created almost 700 direct jobs in the construction phase, including manufacturing jobs at Keppel Prince in the Premier’s home town of Portland, and will create 30 permanent operational jobs. Meanwhile this week in the Latrobe Valley both Yallourn and Hazelwood power stations are shedding maintenance jobs. Its time for the Coalition to move with the times and back renewable energy and regional jobs in Victoria.
Mr Wakeham concluded:
“Given his first hand experience of wind power the Premier must know that Ted Baillieu’s unfair and illogical anti-wind farm laws have seen new wind projects grind to a standstill, and there will be few ribbons to cut on new projects without an urgent rethink.”
Mark Wakeham, 0439 700 501