PORT CAMPBELL — The federal and Victorian governments approved a production licence in March 2026 for Amplitude Energy's Annie offshore gasfield project in the Otway basin, clearing the way for production to begin by 2028. The project sits about 9 kilometres offshore from Peterborough and Port Campbell on the Great Ocean Road, and roughly 12 kilometres west of the Twelve Apostles.

The Annie field is the second major gas project the Labor government has approved this term. Victoria is Australia's largest user of gas, which is used heavily in the manufacturing sector and for heat generation in industrial processes. State Energy and Resources Minister Lily D'Ambrosio said the project could provide up to 65 petajoules of gas, more than one-third of Victoria's annual gas use.

The Australian Energy Market Operator in March revised its peak-day gas shortfall forecast to 2029, citing new infrastructure, increased supply and reduced consumption. Environment Victoria climate campaign manager Joy Toose criticised the decision. "Every new gasfield approved makes the path to a safe climate harder and more expensive," Toose said.

The Victorian Coalition said that if elected in November it would pause and review all major transmission line projects and the state's renewable energy zones. The pause would include the VNI West transmission line linking Victoria to New South Wales and the Western Renewables Link from Bulgana to Sydenham. The Coalition also proposed creating urban solar parks to encourage solar and battery installations on commercial and industrial rooftops in greater Melbourne.

Grattan Institute energy and climate program director Alison Reeve said increasing rooftop solar was not a viable replacement for transmission lines and that many commercial buildings and warehouses were not engineered to support substantial roof loads. "The thing that hooks all of those things together is transmission," Reeve said.

Reeve said a reliable grid required diverse sources. "A system that is resilient has a mix of everything – you have wind, you have large-scale solar, you have small-scale solar, you have batteries, you have pumped hydro, you have a little bit of gas as well," she said.

Toose also addressed the Coalition's proposals. "The Coalition's plan would strangle Victoria's renewable energy industry and drive up power bills for every household and business in the state," she said.