UK-based renewable energy developer RES says it received state planning approval for a $1 billion wind and battery project in north-west Victoria, a milestone that comes five years after the idea was first announced.
The Watta Wella project, which is about 16km north-east of Stawell and near the Grampian ranges, was first pitched in 2021 as a wind, battery and solar project, according to reporting by Renew Economy when it was first unveiled in 2021.
Since then it’s been slimmed down, with the small solar component dropped and the final configuration coming in at 360 megawatts (MW) of wind and a 400 MW, four hour battery.
The state took just under a year to approve the project under the fast-track program managed by the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP), and RES – which describes itself as the biggest independent renewable energy developer in the world – hopes to give the go-ahead for the project in 2027.
However, that still depends on gaining approvals under the federal EPBC process, which has been underway since 2022, as well as connection approvals and reaching financial close.
