The Victorian government in Australia has expedited approvals for 2 major renewable energy projects – a 500 MW solar farm integrated with a 300 MW battery energy storage system (BESS), and a separate 400 MWh standalone BESS facility. 

These projects are identified as Venn Energy’s 500 MW Colbinabbin Solar Farm with storage, which is expected to power around 210,000 homes/year, and Mint Renewables’ 400 MWh BESS project in Dederang with a capacity to power 69,000 homes.   

Victoria’s Minister for Planning, Sonya Kilkenny, said these projects will collectively generate enough power for around 540,000 households annually, with battery storage capable of meeting evening peak demand for almost a million households.  

Both projects, opposed strongly by the local councils fearing their ecological impact, have been fast-tracked under Victoria’s Development Facilitation Program (DFP), aimed at accelerating priority renewable energy developments across the state. 

Under the DFP, which was expanded to include renewable energy projects last year, the state government says it has unlocked over AUD 4 billion worth of investments across 15 projects.  

“We already have the cheapest wholesale energy prices in the country. Fast-tracking this process means even more Victorians will benefit from cheaper renewable energy powering their own homes sooner,” said the State Minister for Energy and Resources, Lily D’Ambrosio.  

These projects are aligned with Victoria’s target to install 25 GW of clean energy capacity by 2035 as it prepares to shut down aging coal-fired power plants (see Australia’s Victoria Targets 25 GW Clean Energy Capacity By 2035).   

Meanwhile, another Australian state, Western Australia, has advanced a 644 MW solar PV farm in Pilbara. Proposed to power Fortescue Metals Group’s mining operations in Pilbara, this project has been cleared by the state Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), which has ruled that it won’t need to be assessed under the Environmental Protection Act.  

The EPA had sought stakeholder consultation on the 644 MW project in May 2025 (see Fortescue Proposes 644 MW Solar Farm For Mining Operations).