THE Australian Federal Government has approved a controversial wind farm south of Sydney.
The wind farm will cover 1,022 square kilometres, a reduction from the original 1,461 size and will be situated 20 kilometres offshore, from Stanwell Park to Kiama.
Thi is the fourth offshore wind zone with others already declared off the Hunter region in NSW, Gippsland and the Southern Ocean near Portland in Victoria.
ABC News reports the amended zone south of Sydney will now see the turbines positioned 20 kilometres from the coast.
The ABC said it excludes significant environmental areas including the Biologically Important Area for the Little Penguin, the Shelf Rocky Reef Key Ecological Feature and the Southern Right Whale Migration and Reproduction Area.
The scaled-down project also decreases the potential power generation, which was originally forecast to be 4.2 GW and is now forecast to be 2.9 GW.
The project still requires approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.