Graph of the Day: State’s big leap forward in wind farm planning approvals

It’s been a tough few years for Australian wind projects – considered by many to be the missing ingredient in the country’s ambitious renewable targets, despite the success of battery storage and solar-battery hybrids.

Few wind projects have begun construction – only two in Australia’s National Electricity Market since January last year, according to Rystad Energy.

The problem is being blamed on a multitude of factors – rising wind technology costs, the lack of interest by big utilities and corporate buyers, the lack of a legislated renewable target for 2030, and the lack of transmission.

Other issues are planning approvals and social licence, and grid connections, but at least on planning approvals progress is being made.

Rystad Energy’s David Dixon points out that the Victorian state government approval for WestWind’s 1.58 gigawatt (GW) Warracknabeal wind farm is not just the biggest in the country, it also confirms a step change in approval decisions.

“The milestone for Warracknabeal is positive news, in what has been a tough 18 months for wind in Australia, with only 2 wind farms starting construction since January 2025 (Carmody’s Hill in SA & Delburn in VIC),” Dixon writes.

“The approval of Warracknabeal marks the first time more than 2 GW of wind (from 3 projects) has been approved in Victoria in a single year.

“This is a significant achievement in its own right as most years only 5-10 wind farms get approved across all NEM states combined in a year.”

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