Cheaper, Cleaner, Renewable: Our Plan for Victoria's Electricity Future outlines the actions we are taking to ensure our state achieves its renewable energy targets.
The plan is built on 4 pillars:
- Enabling the renewables big build
- Empowering households and businesses to lower energy bills
- Managing the transition away from fossil fuels
- Creating jobs, skills and supply chains.
Cheaper, Cleaner, Renewable: Our Plan for Victoria's Electricity Future highlights investment opportunities for the private sector to partner with us through to 2035.
In 2035, our electricity system will be very different.
- electricity use will have increased 50% or more through electrification of gas use and transport
- around 4.8GW of emissions-intensive coal-fired power generation will have closed
- around 11.4GW of new grid-scale renewables will be installed, including 4GW of offshore wind
- there will be around 7.6GW of additional rooftop solar
- at least 6.3GW of short and long duration storage
- the VNI West and Marinus Link interconnectors will be online, exporting Victorian renewables and providing access to firming resources in the National Electricity Market.
Victoria's leadership and vision for the transition
Enabling the renewables big build
A balance of renewable energy generation and storage will be required to replace retiring coal-fired power stations and ensure Victoria’s electricity system is affordable, reliable, safe, and sustainable.
Actions include:
- Building energy storage – like the Victorian Big Battery – to help provide reliable renewable energy throughout the transition.
- Supporting the development of our offshore wind energy industry, including establishing Offshore Wind Energy Victoria.
- Introducing a statewide approach to planning Renewable Energy Zones and transmission, led by our newly established organisation, VicGrid.
- Improving planning and approval processes to help strike a better balance between delivering the projects we need while managing impacts on our communities, landholders, Traditional Owners, First Peoples and the environment.
- Bringing back the SEC to direct investment in more renewable energy generation and storage projects and helping Victorians reduce their energy bills and emissions.
- Introducing a new community benefits approach that will require energy developers to contribute funds that will directly benefit landholders, Traditional Owners, First Peoples and regional communities hosting new energy infrastructure.
Empowering households and businesses to lower energy bills
We’re empowering Victorian households and businesses to participate in the electricity transition and save money by taking greater control of their energy.
Actions include:
- Helping people better capture, store and share their energy so they benefit from greater returns on their investments, including solar and batteries, while unlocking lower energy prices for all Victorians.
- Helping existing homes and businesses use less gas and switch to cheaper, low-emission electric options through the Solar Homes Program and the Victorian Energy Upgrades Program.
- Providing targeted support to low-income households and renters, through stronger minimum energy efficiency standards for rented homes and initiatives like the Energy Efficiency in Social Housing program, which will provide 45,000 energy efficiency upgrades by 2027.
- Ensuring new homes are cheaper to run, healthier to live in and more resilient to extreme weather with 7-star energy efficiency standards and all-electric requirements.
- Piloting a digital planner for households through the SEC, creating personalised plans to reduce energy bills and get the best value for money.
Managing the transition away from fossil fuels
As Victoria moves away from coal-fired generation, we will ensure safe, reliable and secure electricity supply is maintained.
Actions include:
- Supporting workers, businesses and local communities affected by coal-fired power closures.
- Ensuring a reliable supply of gas is maintained for critical industry and a small amount of gas-fired electricity.
- Working with the Australian Energy Market Operator and industry to ensure network reliability and community resilience. This includes addressing the effects of climate change, monitoring the impacts of severe weather events, and the increasingly unreliable energy from our coal-fired power stations.
- Enhancing energy safety for the community and workers.
Creating jobs, skills and supply chains
For a successful electricity transition, it is essential to skill, up-skill and train Victoria’s energy workforce, and have a supply chain that meets our growing energy sector needs.
Actions include:
- Working with key stakeholders to strengthen local renewable electricity supply chains.
- Developing the Victorian Energy Jobs Plan and the Women in Energy Strategy.
- Working closely with the energy industry and training providers to establish greater energy-focused training to help retain existing industry workers and attract new talent.
- Developing energy-specific education infrastructure for TAFE and other training providers, including establishing six new technical schools across the state and funding to improve hands-on learning in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
- Attracting, training and upskilling workers with the delivery of renewable energy training centres, including the Wind Worker Training Centre, the Renewable Hydrogen Worker Training Centre and the SEC Centre of Training Excellence and delivering Solar Victoria’s Training and Workforce Development program.
Get the latest about the Victorian Energy Upgrades program
Page last updated: 22/08/24