Rural Victoria's power networks set to buckle under weight of wind energy.

Authorities say two coal-fired power stations' worth of renewable energy won't be able to reach the grid without major upgrades to networks in Victoria's west.

Wind turbines are set to dot the landscape in Victoria's
west but the extra power will be wasted without transmission
 upgrades.

Developers are lining up to build wind and solar projects in towns to the west and north of Ballarat, in what is being hailed as another gold rush.

"We've got $3 billion worth of projects currently underway," said Stuart Benjamin, the chairman of a Victorian Government-commissioned taskforce that is overseeing the boom in the Grampians.

"And if some of the limitations that we're seeing in terms of infrastructure are addressed, we could possibly double or even triple that number.”

Read the story from ABC News by Charlotte King - “Rural Victoria's power networks set to buckle under weight of wind energy.”

(Listen to the podcast from “Climate Conversations” featuring Charlie Prell, the New South Wales organiser for the Australian Wind Alliance)