More than half of Victoria's local councils will get their electricity from wind power as part of a new energy deal.
The Victorian Energy Collaboration will see 46 councils powered by two new wind farms: Dundonnell wind farm in the state's southwest, and Murra Warra II wind farm near Horsham.
The project is slated as the largest emissions reduction initiative ever undertaken by local government, and it's expected to save 260,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year.
That's about equivalent to powering 48,000 homes with renewable energy, or removing the emissions from 90,000 cars each year.
"This is a bold, visionary project that pushes the boundaries of what was thought possible for local government," Darebin Mayor Lina Messina said in a statement.
The energy retailer Red Energy, which is owned by Snowy Hydro, will supply the councils with a total of 240GWh of renewable energy annually until 2030.
Geelong City Council says the energy agreement should reduce its energy bills by about 20 per cent.
Dundonnell started exporting to the grid in March, while Murra Warra II is still under construction, and will be operational by June 2022.
The deal will start from July.
