Morning Edition · Thu 15 Oct 2026
Victoria Clears a Giant Wind Project, but Federal Approval Still Stands in Its Way
Victoria has given its final state approval to the 219-turbine Warracknabeal Energy Park, which would be Australia's largest wind farm, but the federal decision has been paused while the developer provides more information, ABC News reported.
Chanan Zevin - Chief Editor and Head of Desks
Published
State sign-off
Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny signed off on the project this week, five months after its environmental impact report was approved, ABC News reported on October 15. It was the last approval required by Victorian authorities.
Developer WestWind Energy plans 219 turbines across 26,000 hectares of farmland west of Warracknabeal, more than 300 km north-west of Melbourne, with two 300-megawatt battery systems. The developer says the park would deliver 1.5 gigawatts, enough for 1.2 million homes; that is the company's estimate. ABC said it would narrowly overtake the 215-turbine, 1.33 GW Golden Plains wind farm as the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. About 950 construction jobs are expected, ABC reported.
Federal approval still pending
A spokesperson for the National Environmental Protection Agency said federal assessors had asked the developer for more information. “The decision on whether to approve the project, and what conditions may be attached, has been temporarily paused while the proponent provides more information,” the spokesperson said, according to ABC. The federal EPBC public portal lists the project as considering a final decision.
Transmission is a further constraint. Ross Johns of the Wimmera Mallee Environmental and Agricultural Protection Association told ABC that “there is no project without transmission lines,” referring to the VNI West and Western Renewable Link projects. Federal Mallee MP Anne Webster called the timing, about three weeks before the state government enters caretaker mode ahead of November's election, “curious.” Horsham's mayor raised concerns about housing and services, while the landholder called it “extremely positive” for the town.
The politics of the approval
State planning minister Sonya Kilkenny and energy minister Jaclyn Symes said in a joint statement that the project is critical to Victoria's renewable energy targets of 65% by 2030 and 95% by 2035, RenewEconomy reported. The state's environmental approval of the Environment Effects Statement came in May. WestWind says the park would inject more than $5 billion into the region and provide a community benefit fund of more than $12 million over its life; those are company figures.
RenewEconomy reported that the Coalition opposition, which recent polls suggest could win November's election, proposes a default 2 km buffer between regional renewable projects and homes. Kat Lucas-Healey of Environment Victoria said the project would not be possible under that policy. WestWind managing director Tobias Geiger called the approval “an important milestone” after a decade of planning. WestWind originated the 1.33 GW Golden Plains project, currently Australia's largest wind farm.
Why it matters
Analysis: State approval is one step. The project still needs a federal decision and grid connection before it can generate power, so it is neither fully authorised nor close to operating.
What to watch: the federal environment decision and any conditions, progress on the Western Renewable Link and VNI West, and whether the state election changes planning policy.