The Victorian Minister for Planning has approved WestWind Energy’s Normanville Energy Park, a 122MW wind farm due to be built near Kerang in the Gannawarra Shire in Australia.

Located within the North West Renewable Energy Zone, the project will include up to 17 wind turbines along with associated electrical infrastructure.

Normanville Energy Park will occupy around 1,933 hectares (ha) of agricultural land and is expected to generate approximately 430GW-hours of electricity each year.

Once operational, it is set to generate enough renewable electricity to supply approximately 90,000 households in Victoria and offset roughly 300,000t of greenhouse gas emissions annually.

Construction is expected to attract around A$350m in investment to Victoria and create up to 60 on-site construction jobs over a two-year period.

Once running, the facility is expected to support two to three ongoing local roles. The project will also contribute more than A$1.27m annually to the local economy through community benefit initiatives, payments to neighbouring and host landholders, council rates and continuing project expenditure.

WestWind Energy said further regional investment would come from opportunities for local businesses, contractors and service providers during construction and operation.

WestWind Energy managing director Tobias Geiger said: “The State approval of Normanville Energy Park is an exciting milestone for WestWind Energy and the local region. It reflects years of careful planning, technical assessment and collaboration to deliver a project that will contribute to Victoria's renewable energy future.

“We recognise the important role the Victorian Government continues to play in supporting the delivery of renewable energy infrastructure that will help strengthen Victoria's energy system and support regional communities.”

The approval follows several years of project development including environmental and technical assessments covering aviation, biodiversity, bushfire, cultural heritage, landscape, noise and traffic considerations.

WestWind Energy said the project had been designed with farmers to allow existing agricultural activities to continue alongside renewable energy generation.

Geiger said: “WestWind Energy is proud to be continuing our investment in regional Victoria and looks forward to working closely with stakeholders to deliver a project that creates long-term benefits for the region and contributes to Victoria's clean energy future.”