Northern Victoria’s first wind farm is being proposed on land east of Rochester.
The project could see 25 wind generators up to 200 metres tall occupy grazing land between Nanneella and Koyuga.
The community will be told about the multi-million dollar project at a meeting called by Italian-based energy company, Fera Australia, on Monday, July 1, at the Nanneella public hall.
The meeting is likely to attract considerable interest from district farmers, a number of whom have expressed their concern to Country News.
A second wind farm project is also under consideration in the Rushworth district.
The proposals are part of a national push towards more renewable energy projects in rural areas.
Senior project manager with Fera Australia, Cristiano Diaz, said the proposal was in its very early stages and planning approval had not yet been sought.
Mr Diaz said the final decision would ultimately rest with the Victorian Government.
He said the turbines, standing to a total height of between 220 and 250 metres, would generate about seven megawatts of power — which could supply power to up to 40,000 homes.
Mr Diaz said apart from payments to landholders owning the land, some contributions could also be made to the surrounding community.
Curiously, the area is also covered by a mining exploration licence taken out by Fosterville Gold Mine in 2021, called the North Central Victorian Goldfields Ground Release Block 1.
Resources Victoria says the exploration licence gives a company exclusive right to search for minerals within a specified area and to assess the commercial potential for future development.
The licence restricts other minerals explorers from operating in that area but does not impact other commercial activities.
All approvals for minerals or renewable energy projects will also need to be assessed by the state's planning processes.
The Nanneella meeting called by Fera Australia will be held at 6.30pm on July 1.
Meanwhile, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation has announced a further $127.5 million investment in TagEnergy's $4 billion Golden Plains Wind Farm, that will provide nine per cent of Victoria's energy when completed in mid-2027.
Construction of the 93 wind turbines for stage two will bring more than 350 workers on-site about 60km north-west of Geelong.
TagEnergy said it was buoyed by the Federal Government's capacity investment scheme, the national framework for encouraging investment in clean energy projects.
Golden Plains, the largest wind farm in the Southern Hemisphere, “materially improves Victoria's energy security, puts downward pressure on electricity costs and dramatically reduces carbon pollution,” TagEnergy's Australia managing partner Andrew Riggs said.
Golden Plains stage one is expected to start producing green energy in the first quarter of 2025 and, when complete, the wind farm will power more than 750,000 homes — the equivalent of every home in regional Victoria.