Citywide has joined its parent & shareholder the City of Melbourne to support the development of a new $200 million wind farm to be built in regional Victoria.

Sep 25, 2017

Citywide has joined its parent & shareholder the City of Melbourne and other iconic Melbourne organisations to support the development of a new $200 million wind farm to be built in regional Victoria.

The Melbourne Renewable Energy Project is an Australian-first and unites 14 leading universities, cultural institutions, Councils and corporations that will source energy from the new 80 MW wind farm at Ararat.

Citywide CEO Chris Campbell said the company was pleased to partner with the company’s shareholder on such an important initiative and hoped the MREP would spur other groups of business and community organisations around Australia to follow suit.

“Within the full scope of municipal services we provide, our day-to-day work involves maintaining public parks and gardens and urban forests and street trees – vital community assets which in addition play a role in the climate change equation,” Citywide CEO Chris Campbell said.

“Along with the project partner organisations, we hope to inspire other large organisations to replicate this model and take their own step towards reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.”

The facility will be operated by Melbourne based Pacific Hydro and the power will be supplied by its retail arm, Tango Energy. The 39 wind turbine towers will be sourced from E&A, which is a steel fabrication company based at Whyalla in South Australia.

“Our group will purchase 88 GWh of energy, which is the equivalent to powering more than 17,000 households in Melbourne for a year,” City of Melbourne’s Deputy Lord Mayor Arron Wood said.

“This will abate 96,800 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere each year. That’s as much as taking more than 22,000 cars off the road.”

The consortium members include: City of Melbourne, City of Port Phillip, Moreland City Council, City of Yarra, Bank Australia, NextDC, Australia Post, NAB, RMIT, University of Melbourne, Federation Square, Zoos Victoria and Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre and Citywide.

Currently only 17 per cent of Victoria’s electricity is derived from renewable energy. The wind farm at the agricultural community of Crowlands, 205kms from Melbourne, was first proposed in 2007 and is now being made possible thanks to the unique partnership.

(Images: Pacific Hydro)

Media Enquiries:

Simon Mossman, Group Corporate Communications
M 0427 307 216
E  simon.mossman@citywide.com.au