Victoria’s (VIC) clean energy ambitions have taken a major step forward, with the state’s biggest solar farm now feeding power into the grid. The 250-megawatt Goorambat East Solar Farm near Benalla marks more than just a milestone in renewable capacity. It represents a direct lever on household electricity costs.
While most consumers think of rooftop solar when it comes to cutting bills, large-scale solar plays an equally important role behind the scenes. Projects like this help suppress wholesale electricity prices and reduce the reliance on gas-fired power plants that drive retail costs by flooding the grid with low-cost daytime generation.
For homeowners in VIC, the effect might not be immediate, but it’s significant. Every megawatt of new renewable generation contributes to stabilising the market and moderating the peaks that cause bill volatility. As more large solar farms like Goorambat East come online, the cumulative impact builds resilience into the grid, making power more predictable, cleaner, and ultimately more affordable for everyone.
The project powering VIC’s next energy milestone
The Goorambat East Solar Farm is an ambitious project by any measure. Developed by Engie, the 250-megawatt site stretches across farmland near Benalla in north-eastern Victoria and will eventually produce enough electricity to power around 100,000 homes.
Aside from its size, how it is being built sets it apart. In a first for Australia, parts of the installation process (including piling and mounting the solar panels) were carried out by robotic machinery. That automation allows for faster, more precise construction, reducing costs and minimising the safety risks typically associated with large-scale builds.
Although the project has only just begun exporting small amounts of electricity, it’s already connected to the state’s transmission network. The coming months will see further testing before full operations commence in 2026, when the site will deliver consistent output to the grid.
For VIC, this is an important moment in its renewable expansion. With 17 large solar farms already in operation, Goorambat East cements the state’s position as one of the country’s fastest-moving renewable markets.
How big solar influences what you pay
When a large-scale solar farm like Goorambat East connects to the grid, it adds a huge amount of low-cost generation during daylight hours. That change can shape household electricity prices. The country’s energy market operates on supply and demand: the more cheap, renewable power is fed in, the lower wholesale prices tend to fall. Retailers then buy power from that wholesale market, which eventually determines what appears on your bill.
In practical terms, big solar helps flatten the price spikes that happen when demand surges, especially during hot summer days when air conditioning use soars. Instead of relying on expensive gas-fired power plants to fill the gap, solar generation keeps the grid supplied at a lower cost. This effect is already visible in parts of the National Electricity Market (NEM), where midday prices have dropped sharply in recent years, thanks to the rise of large-scale and rooftop solar.
This means more stability in the long run. The more renewable energy entering the grid, the harder it becomes for short-term volatility or fossil fuel costs to push power bills higher.
Even with VIC’s newest solar farm now feeding into the grid, homeowners won’t see the impact on their electricity bills straight away. That’s because wholesale price changes take time to filter through to the retail market. Energy retailers usually buy electricity through long-term contracts, meaning the savings created by new renewable projects only start to appear once those agreements are renewed or renegotiated.
Another factor is the state’s network infrastructure. While new solar generation can lower production costs, grid bottlenecks sometimes prevent all that cheap electricity from flowing freely to consumers. Transmission upgrades are still catching up with the pace of renewable construction, so some areas benefit faster than others.
Even so, projects like Goorambat East are laying the groundwork for steadier, more affordable prices over time. Every new solar farm adds competition to the energy mix, making it harder for short-term supply shortages or fossil fuel volatility to drive prices up. It’s a gradual process, but one that’s already reshaping how stable and affordable household power can become in VIC.
How homeowners still benefit today
Even before lower bills arrive, the ripple effects of large-scale solar are already being felt. Big projects like Goorambat East help strengthen the entire energy system in ways that reach every household. By adding a consistent daytime supply, they reduce the need for gas-fired “peaking” plants that are expensive to run and cause sudden price jumps. They also help steady the grid’s overall performance, easing strain during high-demand periods and lowering the risk of blackouts.
For solar homeowners, there are more direct advantages. A stronger, more stable grid helps maintain fair feed-in tariffs (FiTs) by reducing the pressure that comes from too much rooftop generation at once. It also supports the rollout of smart inverters, community batteries, and flexible export programs that make it easier for homes to store and share energy efficiently.
Perhaps most importantly, every large solar project adds confidence to the wider transition. It shows that renewables can provide both scale and reliability: two qualities crucial for keeping household energy secure and affordable as VIC continues to move away from fossil fuels.
The ripple effect: What comes next for VIC
VIC’s renewable energy transformation is far from over. The state has set one of the most ambitious targets in the country (reaching 95% renewable electricity by 2035), and projects like Goorambat East are the foundation of that goal. Over the next decade, the focus will broaden beyond solar alone to include large-scale wind farms and hybrid sites that combine solar, wind, and battery storage for a more consistent supply.
Several solar-battery hybrids are already under development across the state, designed to store excess energy during the day and release it back to the grid after sunset. This is the next stage in stabilising prices and ensuring reliability as more coal-fired plants retire. Alongside these projects, community batteries and smarter household systems are expected to play a growing role.
The state’s renewable build-out isn’t just an environmental milestone, but an economic insurance. Each new project strengthens VIC’s energy independence, helping protect households from market shocks and rising fossil fuel costs in the years ahead.
Why every new solar project matters
Large-scale renewable projects often feel distant from everyday life, but their impact is anything but remote. Every solar farm that connects to the grid adds stability, competition, and cleaner energy to AU’s power mix, and that ultimately shapes what homeowners pay. The Goorambat East Solar Farm may sit hundreds of kilometres from most VIC households, yet it’s part of the same system that keeps lights on, fridges cold, and bills predictable.
As more of these projects come online, the cumulative effect becomes powerful. Daytime electricity grows cheaper, storage technology improves, and the grid becomes less exposed to global fuel prices. That’s the real value of VIC’s solar expansion: it’s building a future where power is produced locally, sustainably, and at lower long-term cost. For homeowners, it means that each new solar installation contributes to a cleaner, steadier, and more affordable energy system for all.
The stakes for homeowners
Rising energy costs remain one of the biggest pressures in families, and large solar farms are part of the solution. When projects like Goorambat East feed power into the grid, they don’t just generate clean energy, but they also help protect households from price shocks. More renewable supply means the grid relies less on expensive gas and imported fuels, making prices steadier over time.
For those with rooftop solar, the benefits multiply. When the grid is strengthened by large-scale solar, FiTs become more sustainable, and grid demand stays balanced even when the sun isn’t shining on your panels. You’ll pay less when you draw power and gain more flexibility for batteries or smart export systems.
And for households still considering solar, these big projects create a more reliable foundation to build on. A cleaner, well-balanced grid means fewer price surges, fewer blackouts, and more confidence that renewable energy really can power homes affordably.
Victoria’s biggest solar project is more than a regional success story — it’s a sign of how large-scale renewables quietly reshape everyday life. As farms like Goorambat East come online, they inject steady, low-cost energy that cushions households against rising power prices and supply shocks. The transition isn’t happening overnight, but each connection strengthens the grid and moves Victoria closer to a future where cleaner energy and affordable bills go hand in hand.
For homeowners, that means the solar story doesn’t end on the rooftop. It extends across fields, towns, and transmission lines — a network of shared progress working to keep homes powered, prices steady, and the path to net zero firmly within reach.
Energy Matters has been in the solar industry since 2005 and has helped over 40,000 Australian households in their journey to energy independence.
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