The Albanese Government has ticked off a new solar farm in Victoria which will generate enough energy to power 118,000 Victorian homes.
The 250 megawatt Muskerry Solar Power Station is located 30km northeast of Bendigo and includes the construction of around half a million solar panels and a 200MW battery storage system connected to an existing transmission infrastructure.
This approval decision - made in just 20 business days - marks another important milestone in the Government's plan to make Australia a renewable energy superpower.
Under the Liberals and Nationals, 24 coal fired power plants with a total capacity of 26.7 GW announced their closure dates, but the previous government failed to deliver any policy to ensure replacement energy capacity.
At the last election, Australians voted for progress on renewables. That's exactly what Labor is delivering.
The project will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 495,000 tonnes per annum, which is equivalent to taking around 155,000 cars off the road for a year.
We know projects like this are vital to boosting renewables capacity and putting downward pressure on prices, but they are also great for local jobs and economies. This project will support up to 350 direct jobs in construction and up to 10 ongoing jobs.
Projects need to be placed in the right areas and designed so that their environmental impacts are minimised - as is the case with this project.
Quotes attributable to Minister for the Environment and Water, the Hon Tanya Plibersek MP:
"Labor is getting on with the job of transforming Australia into a renewable energy superpower while Peter Dutton and David Littleproud's risky nuclear plan is threatening investment in renewables.
"I've now approved 65 renewable energy projects - enough to power more than 7 million Australian homes.
"The renewable energy transition is real, it's happening right now. And it's the only plan supported by experts to deliver clean, affordable and reliable power.
"Australians have a choice between a renewable energy transition that's already underway and driving down prices, or paying for an expensive nuclear fantasy that would deliver around 4 per cent of our energy needs and add 1.7 billion tonnes to Australia's carbon emissions."
