Many of the country’s new 260m-high wind turbines will be almost double the height of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw
Camera IconMany of the country’s new 260m-high wind turbines will be almost double the height of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw Credit: News Corp Australia

Towering wind turbines could be coming to Victoria’s southeast coast

Hamish SpenceNCA NewsWire

Plans are underway to build a 350m-high behemoth in Victoria’s southeast, making it the biggest landmark in the state.

The federal government announced its six preferred sites for the country’s first offshore wind farms last week after years of waiting.

The first project seeking approval is the Star of the South, which wants to build up to 200 turbines off Gippsland’s coast.

A 60-day consultation period has already started so the area can be declared a legally suitable site.

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The maximum blade tip height of one of these turbines could be 350m, taller than the biggest building in Melbourne, the Australia 108 skyscraper (317m).

Pics from skyscraper
Camera IconThe 350m-high wind turbines could surpass the Australia 108 skyscraper, the tallest building in Melbourne. Mark Stewart Credit: News Corp Australia

The proposed offshore wind farm could be located just 7m off the coast, near towns such as Port Albert, McLoughlins Beach and Woodside Beach.

Star of the South will select a turbine once its investigations and assessments are complete.

But the project will use a turbine in the 12 megawatt (260m) to 18 megawatt (350m) size range, meaning they will still tower over the coastline.

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Camera IconA 350m-high wind turbine would tower over some of Australia's tallest structures. Star of the South Credit: Supplied

NSW’s Hunter region will soon go through the same consultation process as Gippsland so that a potential wind farm can be built there.

This will be followed by the Illawarra region in NSW, Portland in Victoria, the Bass Strait north of Tasmania, and Perth and Bunbury in Western Australia.

Wind turbines which are 260m tall are also expected in these areas, almost double the height of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which sits at 135m. The blades alone will measure more than 100m, longer than New York’s Statue of Liberty.

When he announced the six sites for the offshore wind farms last week, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said Australia needs to catch up with the rest of the world.

COLDSNAP WET WEATHER
Camera IconMany of the country’s new 260m-high wind turbines will be almost double the height of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw Credit: News Corp Australia

“We’re way behind the game, way behind the rest of the world, in producing wind off our coastline,” he said.

“We have some of the best wind resources in the world.

“Just one rotation of one offshore wind turbine provides as much energy as an average rooftop solar installation generates in one day.”

He said the consultation periods are about alleviating any concerns regarding the wind farms in the preferred areas they have nominated.

“There’ll be questions, there’ll be valid concerns, there’ll be issues that need to be worked through with communities, whether they be recreational fishers, commercial fishers, environmental issues that need to be factored in,” Mr Bowen said.

PM AND BOWEN PRESSER
Camera IconEnergy Minister Chris Bowen said the government is consulting with areas it has nominated as its preferred wind farm sites. NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage Credit: News Corp Australia

“This is exactly what will be happening over the next 60 days in Gippsland and it’s what we’ll be doing across these zones over the next 18 months.”

He said the Star of the South wind farm project should generate enough power to supply 20 per cent of Victoria’s energy needs.

The wind turbines are expected to be a key part of the federal government’s plan to cut emissions to 43 per cent by 2030.