A new wind farm in Victoria will help power an all-electric Canberra, the ACT Government has announced.
The Berrybank Stage 2 wind farm, located in Victoria’s Western Plains, 150 km from Melbourne, is now in operation.
“Berrybank 2 is one of 13 large scale renewable energy generators that are spread across the country, providing the ACT with zero emissions energy at low prices now and into the future,” Shane Rattenbury, ACT Minister for Water, Energy and Emissions Reductions, said.
After Round 5 of the ACT’s Renewables Reverse Auction, the ACT Government entered into an agreement with Global Power Generation (GPG) for their Berrybank 2 Wind Farm, to supply the ACT with renewable electricity.
The windfarm has a capacity of 109 megawatts from 26 wind turbines, which will generate 390 gigawatt hours of clean energy per year, equivalent to the electricity consumption of 71,000 households. The $236 million facility will offset the emission of 390,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Through the 100 per cent renewable electricity target and large scale feed-in tariff program, the ACT has contracted enough renewable electricity to account for all the electricity used within the ACT borders, a government spokesperson explained.
While some of the renewable generators are located in the ACT (e.g., Mugga Lane solar park), most are located outside the ACT, like Berrybank. The electricity produced there is fed into the national electricity market, rather than specifically being reserved for use in the ACT. However, the Large-scale Generation Certificates (LGCs) created by these generators are transferred to the ACT, and are not double-counted.
“This additional supply continues the ACT’s work as Australia’s renewable energy capital, and is a significant milestone in securing an ongoing 100 per cent renewable electricity supply and supporting the electrification of our city,” Mr Rattenbury said.
“As we electrify Canberra and phase out fossil gas, and as Canberra’s population grows, we will need additional electricity supply. The Berrybank wind farm will boost our renewable electricity supply and help power an all-electric Canberra.”
Last week, the Independent Competition and Regulatory Commission (ICRC) announced that average electricity prices would increase at most by 4.15 per cent. Without the ACT’s large scale Renewable Energy contracts, Mr Rattenbury said then, electricity bills would have been $225 higher.
“The price stability that the ACT is now seeing is the result of the good decisions we made over a decade ago to implement a 100 per cent renewable electricity target, further proving that climate action is both achievable and affordable,” Mr Rattenbury said this week.
“These policy decisions have largely protected the ACT community from the extreme price volatility in wholesale electricity prices that other jurisdictions are facing.
“The ACT’s renewable electricity auctions have helped bring in more than $500 million worth of investment into the region, making Canberra a centre for high-skilled renewable sector jobs.
“The addition of the Berrybank 2 wind farm will ensure Canberra’s continued access to affordable and reliable zero-emissions energy.”
