The Australian government has announced the ‘Rewiring the Nation’ plan, which aims to advance the Victorian Renewable Energy Zones (REZ) and offshore wind development.
The new rewiring plan will create new energy jobs across Victoria and unlock clean, low-cost and secure energy that would help reduce power prices.
As part of the new initiative, the Commonwealth and Victoria have signed an agreement to jointly fund offshore wind projects in Victoria, REZs and the Victoria-New South Wales Interconnector (VNI West) KerangLink.
In addition, the Commonwealth, Victoria and Tasmania have signed agreements related to the Marinus Link interconnector project.
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “Rewiring the Nation has always been about jobs in new energy industries, delivering cleaner, cheaper and more secure energy, and bringing down emissions – today it begins doing just that.”
“This is a historic day for Victoria and for Australia with the rollout of these key projects putting us on track to be a renewable energy superpower.”
The agreement between Victoria and the Commonwealth will receive A$1.5bn ($947m) of concessional financing for REZ projects and offshore wind projects.
The Rewiring the Nation, through the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, will provide a concessional loan of A$750m for VNI West, which is expected to be completed by 2028.
Victoria will contribute equally with the Tasmanian and Commonwealth Governments to a total of 20% of project equity to deliver Marinus Link.
The Victorian REZ and offshore wind development will enable new renewable power, reduce power prices, create new jobs and provide a reliable electricity supply.
The VNI-West KerangLink is expected to add 4,000MW of new power generation, creating more than 2,000 jobs during construction, and generate $1.8bn in net market benefits.
Marinus Link is set to create 1,400 jobs in Victoria, and draw $1.5bn in investment to the Gippsland region, the government statement said.
Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said: “Victoria has cut emissions by more than any other state, tripled the amount of renewable energy and created thousands of jobs. We’re not just talking about climate action – we’re getting on with it.
“All of this means more jobs, cleaner energy and cheaper power bills for Victorians.”
