Wind power in Victoria

Abstract

In terms of generation capacity, Victoria has about 12,500 MW, out of a National Electricity Market (NEM) total of over 46,000 MW. A bit over half of Victoria’s capacity is made up of the brown coal generators in the Latrobe Valley (Loy Yang, Hazelwood, Yallourn). Gas-fired generation (mainly large open-cycle peaking plants, designed to operate only in times of high demand) and hydro plants (mainly parts of the Snowy scheme) add about 20% each, with wind currently making up the balance of around 9% of installed capacity in Victoria. In terms of wind farm location across the NEM, installed capacity is predominantly located in Victoria and South Australia, and to a lesser extent in Tasmania, with very small amounts in New South Wales and Queensland. This distribution is almost entirely due to the quality of the wind resource across the country.