Loy Yang Power Station

Mainstream Renewable Power consortium awarded feasibility licence for 2.5 GW offshore wind development in Australia

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, May 2, 2024
Safety, State, AGL Energy, Electricity, University, Eddie O'Connor (businessman), First Nations, Wind, Loy Yang Power Station, Power Station, Climate change, AGL, Workforce, Knowledge, TAFE, Renewable energy

LYSAKER, Norway, May 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Mainstream Renewable Power ("Mainstream"), the pureplay global wind and solar company majority-owned by Aker Horizons ASA, announced that Gippsland Skies Offshore Wind ("Gippsland Skies"), a consortium of Australian and international companies, comprising Mainstream Renewable Power, Reventus Power, AGL Energy and DIRECT Infrastructure, has been granted a feasibility licence by the Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy, for a fixed bottom 2.5 GW offshore wind project off the Gippsland region of Victoria.

Key Points: 
  • LYSAKER, Norway, May 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Mainstream Renewable Power ("Mainstream"), the pureplay global wind and solar company majority-owned by Aker Horizons ASA, announced that Gippsland Skies Offshore Wind ("Gippsland Skies"), a consortium of Australian and international companies, comprising Mainstream Renewable Power, Reventus Power, AGL Energy and DIRECT Infrastructure, has been granted a feasibility licence by the Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy, for a fixed bottom 2.5 GW offshore wind project off the Gippsland region of Victoria.
  • Mary Quaney, Group CEO for Mainstream Renewable Power, said: "Mainstream is a pioneer in the global offshore wind industry and our track record includes developing the world's largest offshore wind project in operation today; Hornsea 2 in the UK.
  • Gippsland Skies Offshore Wind ("Gippsland Skies") was formed to develop a proposed 2.5 GW offshore wind project in an offshore wind Declared Area in Bass Strait off the coast of southern Victoria.
  • Gippsland Skies is jointly owned by a consortium of Australian and international companies, comprising Mainstream Renewable Power, Reventus Power, AGL Energy and DIRECT Infrastructure.

Mainstream Renewable Power consortium awarded feasibility licence for 2.5 GW offshore wind development in Australia

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, May 2, 2024
Safety, State, AGL Energy, Electricity, University, Eddie O'Connor (businessman), First Nations, Wind, Loy Yang Power Station, Power Station, Climate change, AGL, Workforce, Knowledge, TAFE, Renewable energy

LYSAKER, Norway, May 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Mainstream Renewable Power ("Mainstream"), the pureplay global wind and solar company majority-owned by Aker Horizons ASA, announced that Gippsland Skies Offshore Wind ("Gippsland Skies"), a consortium of Australian and international companies, comprising Mainstream Renewable Power, Reventus Power, AGL Energy and DIRECT Infrastructure, has been granted a feasibility licence by the Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy, for a fixed bottom 2.5 GW offshore wind project off the Gippsland region of Victoria.

Key Points: 
  • LYSAKER, Norway, May 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Mainstream Renewable Power ("Mainstream"), the pureplay global wind and solar company majority-owned by Aker Horizons ASA, announced that Gippsland Skies Offshore Wind ("Gippsland Skies"), a consortium of Australian and international companies, comprising Mainstream Renewable Power, Reventus Power, AGL Energy and DIRECT Infrastructure, has been granted a feasibility licence by the Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy, for a fixed bottom 2.5 GW offshore wind project off the Gippsland region of Victoria.
  • Mary Quaney, Group CEO for Mainstream Renewable Power, said: "Mainstream is a pioneer in the global offshore wind industry and our track record includes developing the world's largest offshore wind project in operation today; Hornsea 2 in the UK.
  • Gippsland Skies Offshore Wind ("Gippsland Skies") was formed to develop a proposed 2.5 GW offshore wind project in an offshore wind Declared Area in Bass Strait off the coast of southern Victoria.
  • Gippsland Skies is jointly owned by a consortium of Australian and international companies, comprising Mainstream Renewable Power, Reventus Power, AGL Energy and DIRECT Infrastructure.

A major blackout left 500,000 Victorian homes without power – but it shows our energy system is resilient

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 14, 2024
Energy market, Climate change, Heat, Farm, AEMO, Lightning, Weather, Coal, Loy Yang Power Station, Wind, Flood, Electricity, Renewable energy

Half a million homes and businesses in Victoria were left without power late on Tuesday following a major power outage.

Key Points: 
  • Half a million homes and businesses in Victoria were left without power late on Tuesday following a major power outage.
  • Victorian Energy Minister Lily D'Ambrosio described the blackout as “one of the largest outage events in the state’s history”.
  • But in this case, the fact that a complete system blackout was avoided is testament to the resilience of the system.

A day of wild weather

  • It caused two transmission lines near Geelong to collapse, prompting several generators to disconnect from the grid and cutting power to parts of the network.
  • This involves temporarily cutting off electricity supply to some customers to keep the network stable and prevent damage.

What happened at Loy Yang A?

  • The disruption to electricity transmission caused AGL’s Loy Yang A generator to go offline.
  • It appears that Loy Yang A was the first generator to disconnect.
  • Loy Yang A tripped up to protect itself from permanent damage and in doing so actually kept the system stable.

What part did renewables and coal play?

  • This includes all types of generators – wind, solar, gas, hydro and coal.
  • The power outages on Tuesday were unrelated to the proportion of renewables and fossil fuels in the energy mix.
  • It’s possible that old coal power generators are more sensitive to transmission disruptions than newer technologies.

Lessons from South Australia

  • In September 2016, wind storms in South Australia also blew over transmission lines.
  • But it may well show that the lessons learned from SA blackout saved the Victorian grid.

A warmer future

  • It will manifest in many different ways: strong wind events, heatwaves, bushfires and floods.
  • It means all of us – researchers, the market operators, and generator operators – must work hard to make energy systems more resilient as we move into an uncertain future.


Roger Dargaville receives funding from the RACE for 2030 CRC and the Woodside Monash Energy Partnership.

A major blackout left 500,000 Victorians without power – but it shows our energy system is resilient

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 13, 2024
Energy market, Climate change, Heat, Farm, AEMO, Lightning, Weather, Coal, Loy Yang Power Station, Wind, Flood, Electricity, Renewable energy

Half a million homes and businesses in Victoria were left without power late on Tuesday following a major power outage.

Key Points: 
  • Half a million homes and businesses in Victoria were left without power late on Tuesday following a major power outage.
  • Victorian Energy Minister Lily D'Ambrosio described the blackout as “one of the largest outage events in the state’s history”.
  • But in this case, the fact that a complete system blackout was avoided is testament to the resilience of the system.

A day of wild weather

  • It caused two transmission lines near Geelong to collapse, prompting several generators to disconnect from the grid and cutting power to parts of the network.
  • This involves temporarily cutting off electricity supply to some customers to keep the network stable and prevent damage.

What happened at Loy Yang A?

  • The disruption to electricity transmission caused AGL’s Loy Yang A generator to go offline.
  • It appears that Loy Yang A was the first generator to disconnect.
  • Loy Yang A tripped up to protect itself from permanent damage and in doing so actually kept the system stable.

What part did renewables or coal play?

  • This includes all types of generators – wind, solar, gas, hydro and coal.
  • The power outages on Tuesday were unrelated to the proportion of renewables and fossil fuels in the energy mix.
  • It’s possible that old coal power generators are more sensitive to transmission disruptions than newer technologies.

Lessons from South Australia

  • In September 2016, wind storms in South Australia also blew over transmission lines.
  • But it may well show that the lessons learned from SA blackout saved the Victorian grid.

A warmer future

  • It will manifest in many different ways: strong wind events, heatwaves, bushfires and floods.
  • It means all of us – researchers, the market operators, and generator operators – must work hard to make energy systems more resilient as we move into an uncertain future.


Roger Dargaville receives funding from the RACE for 2030 CRC and the Woodside Monash Energy Partnership.