A community in charge – Gippsland’s new energy future

After 100 years of proudly generating energy for Victoria, Gippsland is looking ahead. The region is known for its energy legacy, and now locals are focused on securing a sustainable future for their communities and industries, which was really clear to see at this year’s Gippsland New Energy Conference. For the third year running, the conference was packed with community groups, businesses, unions, and locals.

Among them was Dean, a Gippsland born and bred local currently working at the Yallourn Power Station. Yallourn is set to close in just a few years time, and the community is getting ready for the next steps. With the impacts of climate change looming, the urgency of the energy transformation is only becoming clearer and clearer. And in that transformation, Gippslanders want ownership of their future. That future looks like a path in renewable energy. Gippsland is a region with agency and is deserving of respect that hasn’t always been afforded. We saw this with Hazelwood Power Station, which was abruptly closed seven years ago with only five months’ notice from its multinational owner. This closure is a stark reminder of the need for a community-led approach.

Now, Gippslanders are calling for the energy transition to be done in partnership with them, not to them. The Albanese government recognises Gippsland’s potential, awarding feasibility licences to 12 offshore wind projects. These are capable of matching Victoria’s current energy output. These projects are set to transform Gippsland’s energy landscape and create thousands of new jobs for locals just like Dean.

Since the announcement, the community has not wasted a day in embracing the opportunity. Local businesses; unions; the community; traditional owners; and groups like the Committee for Gippsland, the Gippsland Trades and Labour Council, and the Gippsland Climate Change Network have united to chart a new energy future, culminating in the launch of the Gippsland Offshore Wind Alliance at this week’s conference. The alliance is designed to ensure that support for this new industry is heard at all levels of government.

This year, the Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, came to Gippsland to listen. Minister Bowen’s address to the conference highlighted our government’s commitment to this region and its energy transformation. At a community roundtable, the minister heard the plan and goals for the region directly from Gippslanders invested in their own future. Demonstrating commitment to investing in the region, he announced the results of the capacity investment auction, and the Wooreen battery in Gippsland was just one of the recipients. This 350-megawatt battery can power 400,000 homes for four hours and comes with a half-a-million dollar community benefit fund to ensure Gippslanders will feel the benefits from this project, and locals like Dean are paying attention to announcements like this one.

For Gippslanders, these developments are more than just policy changes or the next announcement. They are real investments in the region—a region that is worthy of a bright future so that Dean and others like him can live and thrive in their hometowns, contributing to and benefiting from the region’s renewable energy transition.

Existing power stations are shaping their futures around renewables too. The next power station to close after Yallourn is slated to be Loy Yang A in 2035, which is owned by AGL. AGL is also one of the 12 proponents awarded an offshore wind licence, with its Gippsland Skies venture. However, the recent identification of the Loy Yang A site as a potential nuclear location by the Coalition in June has been really troubling. Not only did AGL have no say in the announcement; the community knew nothing either. AGL’s CEO, Damien Nicks, has been very clear that nuclear is not part of their plans or their strategy. It is just not on the radar—and how can it be when you have no consultation, no listening, and no plan?

For Gippslanders, nuclear, at best, spells distraction; at worst, dangerous delay. The abrupt introduction of nuclear energy without proper engagement undermines the years of work invested by locals and the energy sector. The hundreds of conversations held by locals in Gippsland last week and in the years before reinforcing the critical need for partnerships and open dialogue. Regions relying on a path to energy transition deserve a real plan to get there. Gippsland should be in the driver’s seat of this transition. Dean and other locals need investments like those our government are making for generations to come. It’s time that Gippsland takes the wheel and drives its own energy future.