Successful projects in the Victorian Government’s Renewable Energy Auction Scheme (VREAS) were announced on Tuesday 11 September, 2018. The VREAS supports the State’s target of 25 per cent renewable electricity generation by 2020, rising to 40 per cent of generation by 2025. One of the successful projects is the 99 megawatt Winton Solar Farm near Benalla. As part of their bid, Winton’s developer Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) will establish a $1 million Renewable Energy Research Investment Partnership (with the University of Melbourne. The Partnership will be delivered through the Energy Transition Hub and the Faculty of Science. The project will be led by Dr Sebastian Thomas of the Office for Environmental Programs and School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, with other leading researchers at the Hub. Research will be focused on distributed renewable energy systems, regulatory and market design issues, community impacts, and the establishment of new community-owned renewable energy projects.