FAQs

The Victorian Government has selected the Port of Hastings as the preferred site for the Victorian Renewable Energy Terminal.

This is based on attributes that make it an ideal location for developing an offshore wind assembly port:  

• It has land available adjacent to a naturally deep-water shipping channel in proximity to the offshore wind projects in Gippsland and the Southern Oceans. 
• It has extensive, suitably zoned land which could be developed to support the emerging offshore wind sector

The establishment of the Victorian Renewable Energy Terminal at the Port of Hastings will provide the critical port capacity required to achieve Victoria’s ambitious offshore wind energy targets. ‍

The Terminal will act as a dedicated assembly port to receive, store, assemble and transport  offshore wind components. 

Commercial vessels will deliver the components to the Terminal where they will be unloaded and stored. Specialised installation vessels will then receive the components and transport them to the offshore wind zones for installation.  

Some components, including the towers, will be assembled at the Terminal before being loaded onto the installation vessels. 

Wind at sea is stronger and more consistent when compared to land. Analysis of the wind profiles offshore from Victoria demonstrates we have some of the best offshore wind resources in the world. 

For more information on the benefits of offshore wind, visit Offshore Wind Energy Victoria at: https://www.energy.vic.gov.au/renewable-energy/offshore-wind-energy

‍

In April 2025, the Victorian Government released its Offshore Wind Implementation Statement 4, providing an update on the government’s plans for the establishment of an OSW industry. Victoria has set ambitious targets of 2GW of OSW generation by 2032, 4 GW of OSW capacity by 2035 and 9 GW by 2040.

For more information about Victoria’s developing offshore wind sector, visit Offshore Wind Energy Victoria.

The Victorian Planning Minister determined an Environment Effects Statement (EES) is required for the Victorian Renewable Energy Terminal in 2023. 

An EES is required for a project when it is likely to have significant environmental impacts at a regional or state level that need to be examined through an integrated and transparent process, before any statutory decision can be made. 

In the case of the Victorian Renewable Energy Terminal, an EES is required as the project is being built in an area of environmental significance, and must carefully consider how impacts can be managed, avoided and mitigated.

This will occur through the development of an EES.

The EES is Victoria’s most rigorous environmental assessment process.  

Currently, over 20 environmental studies are underway, collecting data across the site and the wider Western Port wetland area to provide a science-based impact assessment for the project and the updated design.

To date, the assessments have shown no material impacts, and this work will continue throughout the full Environment Effects Statement process.

Before construction can commence, the Terminal is subject to a comprehensive Environment Effects Statement (EES) process. If approved, construction of the Terminal could commence in 2027, subject to the necessary approvals.

The Terminal is anticipated to be operational by the end of the decade, subject to the necessary approvals.