May 29th, 2026Cutting Power Bills With $11 Billion In Renewables

The state government is bringing down power bills by fast-tracking renewable energy projects. 

Minister for Planning Sonya Kilkenny has recently approved a further $2.4 billion in projects through the Development Facilitation Program (DFP).

This will add enough battery storage to power more than half a million homes during peak demand.

The latest approvals include:

• $1.3 billion Morwell Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) (Latrobe Valley) – powering 344,000 homes during peak demand.
• $600 million Nine Mile BESS (near Geelong) – Stages 1 and 2 powering 172,000 homes during peak demand.
• $388 million Gelliondale Wind Farm (Gippsland) – generating enough energy for 49,000 homes annually, plus battery storage for 14,000 homes during peak demand.
• $130 million Chivers Road BESS (Glenrowan) – powering 34,500 homes during peak demand.

The DFP pathway is about making good decisions faster and projects continue to undergo rigorous planning assessments, agency referrals and consultation.

These approvals mean more than 30 projects worth $11 billion have been approved through the DFP over the past two years – accelerating cleaner, cheaper energy.

Together they have capacity to power 800,000 homes each year and battery storage to power 2.6 million homes during evening peaks.

These projects will create more than 3,800 jobs across construction and operations.