Australia's largest wind farm is officially switched on to start powering almost a million homes

A wind farm projected to be the largest in the southern hemisphere has officially started producing electricity.

On Friday, the first stage of the Golden Plains Wind Farm – 100km west of Melbourne – began feeding into the grid after weeks of electricity generation trials and problems with small parts of the stalled turbines being ripped off by high winds.

The owners of most global Ikea stores have also doubled their investment in Australian renewables, purchasing a second stake in the project.

The Ingka Group – which owns the majority of global Ikea stores – announced on Friday that it had taken a 15 percent stake in the second phase, equaling its ownership in the first phase.

The entire Golden Plains Wind Farm is designed to produce 9% of Victoria's energy, or enough electricity to power 750,000 homes through 215 turbines.

Australia's energy is made up of around 42% renewable energy.

Ikea Australia chief executive Mirja Viinanen said the company's financial support represented an acceleration of investment in renewable energy.

“Not only will this help reduce our local carbon footprint, but it will also contribute to further growth in the Australian renewable energy sector,” she said.

The farm went through weeks of testing with problems with small parts of the turbine flying in the wind

Due for completion in 2027, the wind farm near Geelong will have the capacity to produce 1.3 gigawatts.

State Energy Minister Lily D'Ambrosio said the scale of the project was key.

“The Golden Plains Wind Farm will be able to power every home in the Victorian region – delivering lower bills for Victorian families,” she said.

'Victoria is Australia's clean energy investment capital, and this project is another example of how Victoria's ambitious renewable energy policies are creating jobs and boosting the renewable energy sector.'

Victoria runs on 56% coal, 31% wind energy and the remainder is powered by solar, hydro and a small amount of battery-stored electricity.

Developers TagEnergy began construction of the Golden Plains project without financial underwriting from the government in late 2022.

Wind farm should be completed by 2027, when it aims to produce 1.3 gigawatts of energy

Victorian Energy Minister Lily D'Ambrosio (above) says the farm will reduce energy bills

The overall project is budgeted at US$4 billion and phase 2 of construction began in June.

The Australian government-controlled Green Bank – the Clean Energy Finance Corporation – is one of the main financiers.

The Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, Denmark's Export and Investment Fund, Japan's Mizuho Bank, France's Natixis Bank, Bank of China and Germany's Deutsche Bank are also backers of the project.

TagEnergy said the project was vital to reducing emissions.

'Throughout the development of the project, we have been driven by the confidence that those at the forefront of the energy transition have demonstrated in TagEnergy's ability to deliver large-scale renewable energy projects, from our lenders to the Victorian and Australian governments and the Operator Australian Energy Market,' TagEnergy chief executive Franck Woitiez said.

Turbines being assembled at the Golden Plains Wind Farm site west of Melbourne

“We have demonstrated that our innovative commercial approach brings large-scale projects to life faster.

'We will continue to innovate to deliver more projects to accelerate the transition, and the government's supportive policy landscape will facilitate this.'

In September, Energy Australia signed a 10-year contract with TagEnergy to consume 40% of stage 2 capacity.

The Golden Plains project involves 37 landowners and 215 turbines, which at their highest point will reach 230m.

When fully installed and operating, the turbines will save 4.5 million tons of carbon dioxide emitted annually.

Preparation for the project's full start on Friday was not without drama.

Shards of sharp plastic have exploded from the turbines in recent weeks. Farmers have been advised to wear helmets within 400 meters of the massive machines.

Developers said that because the blades didn't rotate, they were susceptible to strong winds that loosened parts.