Australian offshore wind trailblazer pulls up stumps, warns against “overstated risk aversion and timidity”

Oceanex Energy, the Australian offshore wind start-up that blazed a trail for the energy generation technology in what remains an as-yet untested market, will wind up its operations in 2026, the company’s founders have confirmed.

In a statement posted on LinkedIn late on Thursday, Oceanex co-founder Andy Evans said it was “time to formally close the door” on the floating offshore wind hopeful, after a years-long effort to originate projects off the coast of Australia and New Zealand/Aoteroa.

In a follow-up statement to Renew Economy, Evans said Oceanex would shut its doors early in the new year, having formally ended all partnerships.

“We will not progress any planned projects in New Zealand, nor will Oceanex make any offshore wind R&D licence applications,” Evans told Renew Economy.

The decision draws a line under the projects that remain listed on the Oceanex website, including plans for three offshore wind farms in New Zealand waters, which were said to be in pre-feasibility phase.

In Australia, Oceanex had in August formally withdrawn its plans for the Novocastrian Wind project, its JV partner on the project – Norwegian energy giant Equinor declining the feasibility licence due to a combination of “global challenges” and “project-specific factors.”

The up to 2 gigawatt (GW) project was proposed for the 1,800km2 Pacific Ocean zone, which stretches between Swansea and Port Stephens off the New South Wales coast, and would have been the first in Australia to host floating turbines.

Oceanex was also proposing to develop a 1.5 GW project in the Western Australia Bunbury offshore wind zone.

Evans, with his Oceanex co-founder Peter Sgardelis, were also co-founders – alongside Terry Kallis – of the 2.2GW Star of the South (SOTS) project, which is now being co-developed by Danish giant Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and super outfit Cbus.

The Star of the South remains the most likely contender to be the first ever offshore wind project to be developed in Australia, off the coast of Gippsland in Victoria.

Currently, the nine remaining contenders for the Gippsland offshore wind zone remain in a form of limbo, while they wait for news of a date for the auction process, after its launch was delayed by the state Labor government.

Keeping projects afloat has proved a tough game, with three developers handing back their feasibility licences over the course of the past six months – including, most recently, AGL Energy.

But Evans – who is also the creator of the documentary film Planet Wind, which follows the progress of offshore wind in eight different countries – says he still believes that the technology can be a “game changer” for Australia – if it can get it right.

“I still strongly support offshore wind and will be doing more work in [the Asia Pacific] region and especially in supply chain development to really make energy projects happen, not just be talked about,” he told Renew Economy on Friday.

“Australia really needs to up its game and actually execute the abundance of renewables opportunities we have,” Evans says.

“We’re losing the great advantages we have due to overstated risk aversion and timidity. Countries like the Philippines are now surpassing us in offshore wind due solely to a will to make life better for their people. We need to do the same.”

Evans says Oceanex’s legacy will be the “incredible new leaders” the company spawned, who he says “have all moved on to bigger and better things … and a realisation that a vision matched by belief and execution can lead to greater prosperity for our country.

“We’re proud to have been a key player in originating offshore wind in new areas such as the Hunter, Illawarra, Bunbury and New Zealand/Aoteroa, regardless of the final outcome,” he said on LinkedIn.

“We still believe in offshore wind as a game changer for Australia, and Pete and I will still be working hard to ensure it gets up and that thousands of Australians will be working in the offshore wind, and related, industries.”

Outside of Oceanex, Evans is a co-founder in two other companies – NewVolt and Oceon Energy – the latter of which is dedicated to advancing the infrastructure and market models to underpin large-scale maritime electrification.

“I look forward to progressing many other exciting renewable energy ventures with my awesome co-founders … and look out for a new initiative early in 2026 that will really make energy happen,” Evans said on LinkedIn. “Watch this space…..”

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