The Victorian Energy Collaboration

In May 2021, Maribyrnong City Council signed on to the Victorian Energy Collaboration (VECO), the largest ever emissions reduction project by local government in Australia.

The project will provide 46 Victorian Councils with 100 per cent renewable electricity from wind power, reducing greenhouse emissions by 260,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (C02e) emissions every year while saving money at the same time.

As part of the project, Maribyrnong City Council will use renewable electricity to power 100% of its electricity use - including the Footscray Town Hall building, the Maribyrnong Aquatic Centre, street lights, libraries, community centres and all other Council sites.

Switching to 100 per cent renewable electricity will occur as Council’s current contracts expire – all smaller sites will switch over on 1 July 2021, while larger sites will switch over on 1 January 2022.

Owned by Snowy Hydro, Red Energy, a 100 per cent Australian owned and operated energy retailer based in Melbourne, will provide the renewable electricity to the Councils in the VECO purchasing group for a period of up to 9.5 years, beginning 1 July 2021. The 240GWh of renewable electricity provided by Red Energy is equivalent to powering 45,000 homes or removing the greenhouse emissions of 90,000 cars every year.

The renewable electricity will be generated right here in Victoria, by two wind farms – Dundonnell wind farm near Mortlake, and Murra Warra II wind farm near Horsham. Both wind farms have, and will continue to deliver economic benefits to the regions during construction and ongoing operation, and form an important part of state, regional and local economic development.

The project has been initiated and facilitated by Darebin City Council and the Victorian Greenhouse Alliances.