Barwon Water, Barwon Health and Geelong Port have finalised their renewable Power Purchase Agreement with a local wind farm in an effort to reduce emissions and cut energy costs.
The agreement with Mount Gellibrand Wind Farm will see the major services power their operations with 100 per cent renewable electricity from 1 December.
This agreement is supported by the Victorian Government’s target to power all Victorian government operations with renewable energy by 2025, in addition to reducing the state’s emissions by 50 per cent by 2030 and zero emissions by 2050.
Victorian Minister for Environment and Climate Action, Lily D’Ambrosio, said these sorts of agreements play an essential role in assisting the government in its goal to reach net-zero by 2050.
“Renewable energy agreements like this are key to driving down our emissions and meeting our ambitious target of reducing emissions by 50 per cent by 2030 and zero emissions by 2050,” Ms D’Ambrosio said.
Located between Geelong and Colac, Gellibrand Wind Farm will provide the organisations with about 68 gigawatt hours of renewable electricity each year, enough to power the equivalent of 14,000 homes or remove 24,000 cars off Victorian roads.
This initiative is a major step in reducing carbon emissions and will help each organisation offset rising energy costs, which in turn will help to reduce operating costs.
Victoria’s water corporations are the first in the nation to commit to net-zero emissions by 2035 as part of an agreement with the Victorian Government. This purchasing agreement with Gellibrand Wind Farm will help Barwon Water achieve this target.
