Offshore wind turbines near impossible to see in visualisations for Gippsland zone

With the naked eye, it will be nigh impossible to see offshore wind turbines from Gippsland beaches, according to updated visualisations issued by the Victoria state government.

The images purport to show what the view could look like from Golden beach and Woodside beach in Gippsland, which are the closest land locations to the nearest declared wind area. 

The visualisations – for turbines located 10km, 30km and 60km offshore – illustrate what a person might be able to see once turbines are erected in the late 2020s and early 2030s on a sunny day. 

The latest images suggest the turbines will be even less visible to the naked eye than in previous visualisations, and impossible at distances of 30km and 60km.

The simulated view of what the nearest Gippsland offshore wind turbines will look like from Mt Oberon in Wilson’s Prom national park. Image: Victoria DEECA

Ten feasibility licences were awarded for the Gippsland declared offshore wind zone, with a vanguard of six in May last year followed by another four several months later.

Both developers and government have long recognised how important picturing what these will look like from the land is for winning over locals living in Gippsland.

The simulated view of what the nearest Gippsland offshore wind turbines will look like from Mt Oberon in Wilson’s Prom national park. Image: Victoria DEECA

In 2022,  BlueFloat Energy and Energy Estate put together a 3D simulation of their 1.28 gigawatt (GW) Gippsland Offshore wind farm as it was then proposed would look like from 10 to 30 kilometres off the Victorian coast.

And last year a company called Spatial Media began doing the same, allowing people to visualise how renewable energy projects generally would fit into their area.

Last week the Victorian energy department updated its page saying the images were new, but later said the images were in fact from March.