The company behind the biggest offshore wind project in the Bass Strait has released images and videos depicting how the turbines will look from various vantage points.
Star of the South has proposed a 2.2-gigawatt offshore wind farm located between seven kilometres and 25 kilometres off the south coast of Gippsland.
The almost 500-square-kilometre patch would hold up to 200 turbines and sits between Woodside Beach and Wilson's Promontory, connecting into the Latrobe Valley's power grid.
The Australian government has granted an exploration licence to Star of the South to investigate the site, which would take up to 10 years to develop.
But some residents living around the coast are concerned about the visual impact on the iconic coastal landscape.
The company's interactive map shows how offshore wind turbines will look from areas including Woodside Beach, Reeves Beach, Port Albert and on the edge of the wind farm, from a boat.
Potential deal-breaker
Woodside Beach resident Renata Andrews moved to the area with her partner for retirement but said the turbines would ruin the area's aesthetic appeal.
"I feel there's places where the beach isn't the drawcard; it could be the turbines are put somewhere further down," she said.
Ms Andrews said she regretted not thoroughly researching the area's potential to become an offshore wind zone.
"We didn't look into it, but I wish we had; it might've changed my mind [to move here]," she said.
Ms Andrews was also concerned about the turbines' potential environmental impact.
"My concern is if they put the turbines in there, if a turbine drops one drop of oil a day, that's going to add up; we're going to pollute our oceans," she said.
"We've destroyed the land, now we're going to destroy the water putting things out there."
Community engagement
Latrobe University professor of psychology Bradley Jorgensen said more community involvement was needed for locals to embrace new energy projects.
"They have a vision of what this place is, and it's bounded in their experience of having lived there, they undertake activities in that region, they have social relationships, friends, family, in that region," he said.
"They will be feeling left out in the sense that they have no control over what's happening in their place, they see it as being threatened by a viewpoint that they probably regarded as the out-group, as the enemy."
Professor Jorgensen said people in Gippsland should embrace and accept the upcoming changes.
"It's really about trying to be a part of the change, rather than letting the change take you by surprise and run over the top of you," he said.
"The perception of it is really about where your values are, and how you see this change that the world is undertaking towards renewable energy."
Hope for the future
Others are more optimistic about offshore wind and the transition to renewable energy.
Traralgon resident Emma Pallett said even her parents, who live in a home with a view of the coastline, were supportive of the project.
"In the world we live in now and some of the environmental issues we have going on, we need to transition to renewables, probably just as an obligation for our kids, their kids," she said.
"I think we've got to take some responsibility for what kind of world we want to leave the next generation."
With some concerned the turbines will deter tourists, Melburnian Russ Croxford said it would not detract from Gippsland's beauty.
"It wouldn't put me off coming here; there'd be enough areas in Gippsland that are beautiful, so it's not like everywhere you look there's going to be a wind farm," he said.
"It doesn't look fantastic in those particular areas but that method of producing energy makes sense in the long term."
Star of the South's chief development officer Erin Coldham said state-of-the-art GIS (geographic information system) mapping was used to ensure the map was as accurate as possible.
"We've created an interactive map so that we can give people an idea of what an offshore wind farm might look like off the coast of Gippsland," she said.
"So, rather than just sort of seeing turbines in the ocean, actually making it feel like you're standing at Port Albert or Woodside beach and what that might mean."
But in reality, the view may differ throughout the approval process and the map does not take other offshore wind projects into account.
"Some of the other offshore wind farms are still in the earlier phases of development," Ms Coldham said.
"So, at this stage, we haven't incorporated those into the design of the model."
