Plans to develop an offshore wind farm of up to 3 gigawatts of capacity off the coast of Western Australia have been formally withdrawn, amid ongoing reports of dwindling developer interest in projects for WA waters.
A “notification of proposal withdrawn” for Copenhagen Energy’s Samphire Offshore Wind Farm appeared on the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) portal this week, back-dated to Wednesday last week.
No reason is given for the withdrawal of the project, although its proposed location – 60 km to 120 km north of Perth between Two Rocks and and Lancelin – puts it outside of the Bunbury zone, the only officially declared development zone in the state.
Copenhagen Energy still has two offshore wind projects in the EPBC queue, including the Leeuwin Offshore Wind farm, which proposes to install up to 200 turbines 30 km off the coast of Binningup, in the Bunbury zone.
The other project still in the EPBC queue, for now, is the Midwest Offshore wind farm, which is proposed for off the coast of Kalbarri, 500km north of Perth.
Federal energy minister Chris Bowen in March said his department had received four bids for the Western Australia offshore wind zone, despite reports that several big-name contenders have abandoned plans to develop there.
The Bunbury offshore wind zone was officially declared by Bowen in September of last year, after bring reduced in size and pushed further off the south-west Western Australia coast to better avoid recreational fishing areas.
The 4,000 square kilometre zone, which is split in half by a shipping lane, sits least 30 km from shore at its closest point, Cape Naturaliste, and 40-50 km from most coastal towns. It has the potential to support 11.4 GW of offshore wind capacity.
As least three developers have dropped plans for WA projects, including OceanEx Energy, which had flagged plans for a 2GW of offshore wind in WA waters back in 2021, and German outfit Skyborn Renewables, which has disappeared its plans for the 1.6 GW Myalup Offshore Wind Farm.
Alinta Energy, too, has shelved its WA offshore wind plans, reportedly to focus on its much more well advanced Victoria plans – the 1.2 GW Spinifex project in the Southern Ocean zone, for which it was last month awarded a feasibility licence.
Meanwhile, development of the zone set to host Australia’s first offshore wind projects, off the coast of Gippsland in Victoria, continues to make steady progress.
Danish wind giant Ørsted said last week that it has made a start on feasibility investigations for its Gippsland Offshore Wind Farm projects, having completed marine geophysical and geotechnical surveys, and placement of wind and ocean condition measurement devices.
“The geotechnical surveys, which help us understand the composition of the seabed, were completed in April, with tests completed in about 60 locations across our two feasibility licence areas,” the company said in a statement.
Ørsted says it has also deployed and anchored “sophisticated devices” that measure wind, weather and ocean conditions within the licence areas, which will now stay in place for two years.
“They are mapping wind, wave, current and meteorological parameters to allow us to optimise the eventual configuration of the wind farms and how we best operate them.
The devices are said to include an innovative Uncrewed Surface Vessel which uses technology developed by Ørsted to undertake long-endurance surveys at sea.​​
Elsewhere in the Gippsland zone, the Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation (GLaWAC) announced this week it has signed an engagement agreement with the developers of the Blue Mackerel offshore wind project.
The 1 GW Blue Mackerel North project, which currently holds a feasibility licence in Gippsland offshore wind zone, is being led by Japan’s Jera Nex.
GLawac says the agreement ensures Gunaikurnai people are actively involved at the feasibility stage of the project and provides initial resourcing to advocate for the rights, interests and aspirations of the Gunaikurnai community throughout the feasibility stage.
“This includes cultural protections, employment pathways, sustainable economic development, and genuine community engagement,” the statement says.
“If the project progresses beyond feasibility, GLaWAC will consult with members to determine the best path forward and ensure any future development respects Gunaikurnai Country and delivers meaningful benefits for members and the broader community.”
In his first comments following the federal election and his reappointment as federal energy minister, Bowen said the Albanese government is still determined to implement the offshore wind plan it took to the election, which is to develop the six zones around the country.
“Obviously, there’s a little more work to do in the Illawarra, the Hunter and Western Australia, as well as the Bass Strait zone. They’re all at different levels,” he told reporters at the time.
“The Gippsland is the most advanced, but we’ll just continue to implement the policy, including issuing licences where appropriate within the six zones, in keeping with the plan I outlined pre-election.”
“I do note that despite some of the rhetoric and the argy‑bargy, there was a swing to the Labor Party pretty much in every offshore wind seat and strong advocates for offshore wind like Alison Byrnes in Cunningham received a big boost to her vote,” he added.
“Meryl Swanson received a swing to her in Paterson. So, I take that as well as an endorsement.”
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