In July 2025 Save Westernport made a Submission to the federal government on the Port of Hastings Corporation’s EPBC referral for the proposed Victorian Renewable Energy Terminal (or V-RET) in Westernport’s Northern arm.
Read Save Westernport’s Submission
Although public comments are now closed for this stage of the referral (or application) process, the Port of Hastings Corporation’s various EPBC reports on dredging, marine studies etc should still be available here. The government website is constantly being updated. There will be more opportunities for the public to comment on the project when the Port of Hastings releases their EES reports in 2026.
Many environmental organisations and individuals wrote submissions commenting on the project’s likely impacts. See below.
In addition to addressing the project’s impacts on the ecological character of Westernport Bay, our Submission addressed the implications for residents and visitors from the many unavoidable changes to the visual and regional amenity if this project is approved.
For example, the diagram above, provided by the Port of Hastings, shows that 200m tall windfarm pylons stored upright at the Hastings foreshore will be almost THREE TIMES the height of existing MCG light towers—and nearly as tall as Melbourne’s Rialto Tower.
If the project is approved, over a period of several years, hundreds of these windfarm pylons will be transported by barge from the Hastings terminal and out through Westernport Bay, to facilitate the construction of Victoria’s offshore windfarms in Bass Strait. The potential impacts on Westernport’s Ramsar wetlands are undeniable.
If the federal government decides the proposed V-RET at Hastings is a Controlled Action, the project’s environmental, social and other impacts will be assessed by an Environment Effects Statement (EES) in Victoria.
**Update: In August 2025 federal Environment Minister Murray Watt announced that the project is a Controlled Action and will progress to environmental assessment through an EES.**
Read MP News article, Aug 13 2025
View videos about the project and read about what it involves on the Port of Hastings website
Read Submissions about this project by other organisations:
Victoria National Parks Association (VNPA)
Westernport Peninsula Protection Council (WPPC)
Phillip Island Conservation Council (PICS)
We will keep you posted about the project assessments here on the Save Westernport website, and via facebook etc.
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Thankyou
The Save Westernport Steering Committee
