A recently established quarry in western Victoria is helping the construction of what will become the largest wind farm in the southern hemisphere.
The Golden Plains Quarry provides materials for the nearby Golden Plains Wind Farm that is currently under construction. It is a landmark clean energy project which will power more than 765,000 homes.
Overall, the Golden Plains Wind Farm will require close to 2 million tonnes of hard rock quarry materials.
For the project's first stage, the Golden Plains Quarry has provided material for 100 kilometres of access tracks and 122 hardstand areas where cranes and construction equipment will operate from.
Having the quarry so close to the construction area reduces the cost of transporting the heavy materials, reducing carbon emissions from trucks as well as creating jobs for locals.
Operations Manager Murray Scott says the site produces between 4,000 – 6,000 tonnes of material daily.
"It's not always easy to find jobs in the Golden Plains," he said.
"It's good for the community that we can give local people a job close to home."
Mandy Petrisor is one of the locals currently working at the quarry and says she's noticed the uplift created for local businesses.
"We're seeing different people in the community; it's made a difference in the shop and the pub here. It's also helped the football club and kinder who have asked for money to help with projects."
The benefits of quarries extend well beyond the immediate economic boost for the communities they service. The wind farm, supported by the quarry, is one of many critical infrastructure projects currently underway across the state.
This means the demand for quarry materials is high. Victoria needs on average 8 tonnes of quarry materials per person a year to build the houses, roads, transport system, schools, hospitals and the renewable energy infrastructure needed to keep our state moving forward. Quarry production in Victoria is growing year-on-year with a 14 per cent increase over three years to 2022-23.
To ensure quarry production can grow further, Resources Victoria is working to reduce approval times for quarries. Over the last year, for every one tonne of quarry material currently being produced, four new tonnes have been approved for development to help meet future demand.
Golden Plains Wind Farm – East, phase one, is owned by TagEnergy (85%) and the Ingka Group (15%). The Golden Plains Quarry is a separate business.
