INSIDE TODAY
INSIDE TODAY
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY FEATURE PAGES 15 TO 17
2025 FOOTY FIXTURE PAGES 28 AND 29
21 GEORGE STREET, MORWELL 3840
TELEPHONE 0351354444
34
SUNNY
WEDNESDAY, 5 MARCH, 2025
24
POSSIBLE SHOWER
25
30
PARTLY CLOUDY
SUNNY
Future proof park
Pay dispute finally over By TOM HAYES
Photograph: Katrina Brandon
Old Gippstown has released its strategic plan, which aims to turn the open museum into a must-see heritage destination. Welcoming the initiative is Old Gippstown Manager, Kellie Simpson, secretary Bill Baker, Member for Eastern Victoria Region, Harriet Shing and Old Gippstown Chair, Libby Scott. STORY - PAGE 22
Battery launched By PHILIP HOPKINS
CONSTRUCTION of EnergyAustralia’s $700 million, 350MW battery in the Latrobe Valley was symbolically launched at a major ceremony in Morwell last Friday, February 28. The 350 MW Wooreen Energy Storage System (WESS), located next to EnergyAustralia’s Jeeralang gas power station at Hazelwood North, will be able to provide power for four hours before needing to be recharged. The site was chosen for its land availability and proximity to the existing power grid, allowing the efficient integration of the battery into the electricity network. The power can be used either to help stabilise the energy grid due to intermittent renewables, or supply electricity to 230,000 homes over the period. The Minister for Energy and Resources, Lily D’Ambrosio, and EnergyAustralia’s Managing Director, Mark Collette, symbolically turned the first sod for the battery, which is
scheduled to be in operation by 2027. Construction is expected to create about 80 jobs. Gunairkurnai Elder, Michelle Dow, gave a ‘Welcome to Country’ speech to open the ceremony, then proceeded to a ‘smoking ceremony’ to complete the ceremony. Mr Collette said EnergyAustralia was honoured to acknowledge the Gunaikurnai Elders, who had gifted the name ‘Wooreen’. “Wooreen means ‘light’, reflecting the project’s role in illuminating the path towards a sustainable energy future for the region,” he said. Mr Collette said EnergyAustralia was originally from the Latrobe Valley. Yallourn W Power Station and its Yallourn predecessors had powered Victoria for more than 100 years. “Engineering is in our DNA,” he said. But now the energy mix was changing from brown coal-fired power stations to wind, solar, batteries and other firming generation, “which aims to make energy
supply reliable and affordable”, he said. The battery would be able to store solar energy at the solar peak during the day, and release it in the evening or morning peak when it was needed. Mr Collette said Wooreen was the biggest project ever undertaken by EnergyAustralia, whose initial foray into batteries had been two small 25MW and 30MW projects. These had been a learning curve for the company, which had culminated in the large Wooreen battery project. “Wooreen is one of the largest energy storage projects in Australia,” he said. Ms D’Ambrosio said the Wooreen battery would help the Latrobe Valley continue the state’s energy generation powerhouse and allow for more renewable projects to be built in the area. “Building more battery storage means we can create more renewable energy - for every gigawatt of battery storage built, three gigawatts of new renewable energy can come online,” she said. Wooreen is part of the state
DAY
MMOND NDAY ND Y 10 MARCH SEE PAGE
14
OF TODAY’S PAPER
G 6 9519 GP16795
$2.00 inc. GST
www.latrobevalleyexpress.ccom.au
GP1679498
government’s Structured Transition Agreement (STAs) with Energy Australia, which aims to help workers and industry prepare for the closure of Yallourn in 2028. The STAs will focus on helping workers retrain, reskill, and find new opportunities, which includes a tailored worker and supply chain transition programs, a worker transfer scheme. “Our expansion of training and apprenticeship programs will also create a new pipeline of skilled workers,” she said. “Victoria is the home to big batteries with 12 currently operational, with another 13 under construction or undergoing commissioning, pushing us towards meeting the first renewable energy storage target of at least 2 gigawatts by 2030.” EnergyAustralia achieved financial close for Wooreen on February 20, with the investment valued at more than $700 million. Continued - Page 6
THE Police Association of Victoria (TPAV) members have voted to accept the revised pay dispute offer, putting an end to the protected industrial action. After 76 per cent of TPAV members endorsed the revised pay deal last month, 91 per cent of the 16,000 TPAV members voted to accept the deal last Friday (February 28). The pay rise sees an 18 per cent raise over four years, while frontline officers will receive a 20 per cent rise throughout the same period, backdated to July 2024. The successful vote comes weeks after a no-confidence vote against former police commissioner, Shane Patton, who resigned last month. Rick Nugent has stepped into the role as the acting police chief. “The finalisation of this industrial dispute is just the first step in a raft of improvements that desperately need to occur quickly to support our front line, so that it can continue to protect and support the community,” TPAV said in a statement. “Our attention must immediately shift to filling the gaping holes that exist in the front line, by refocusing on recruitment and retention of police officers and PSOs, and embarking on reforms to the criminal justice system to support the work they do.” The agreement will now go to the Fair Work Commission for approval.
AUTUMN GIPPSLAND SENIOR INSIDE TODAY