Victoria invests A$1bn in renewables to switch away from gas

The Australian state of Victoria on October 26 announced a A$1bn ($630mn) investment in renewable energy and storage projects, in an effort to switch away from natural gas for heating and cooking.

The investment will focus on increasing storage and onshore generation, and building industry confidence to attract further investment down the line.

The State Electricity Commission (SEC) will support 2.6 GW of renewable generation and storage assets by 2028. The SEC will also take over the Labor government’s Victorian Renewable Energy Target projects by 2025, which amount to 1.2 GW of renewable energy generation in addition to the 4.5 GW.

“The SEC is back: we’ll invest in government-owned renewable energy, help households switch to all-electric and build the renewables workforce Victoria needs,” premier Jacinta Allan said. 

The Victorian government believes this investment will help power every public hospital, school, police station, and government building with renewables, helping to achieve the target for all Victorian government operations and facilities to be powered by 100% renewable electricity by 2025.

The state government made a decision in July to phase out gas in new homes. Starting from January 1, 2024, all new homes and residential subdivisions seeking planning permits will only be connected to all-electric networks.