Peter Dutton vows to scrap offshore wind zone, “rip up contracts” and sink $10 billion project

Peter Dutton has promised to “rescind” the declared offshore wind zone off the coast of Port Stephens and the Hunter region in New South Wales if a Coalition government is elected in 2025, scuppering the $10 billion plans for a 2 gigawatt project proposed for development there.

In a statement released on Thursday morning, the leader of the federal opposition said development of the zone – an 1,800km2 area between Swansea and Port Stephens that was declared by federal Labor in July last year – would not proceed under a Dutton Coalition government.

“The Albanese government has deliberately ignored serious economic, social and environmental concerns raised by local residents by this proposed wind zone,” Dutton said in a statement on Thursday.

“The Prime Minister, and his Energy Minister Chris Bowen, have shown complete disregard to the people of Port Stephens, Newcastle, and the Hunter in a desperate attempt to achieve their ideological target of a renewables-only electricity grid.

“Enough is enough, and today we are announcing that this bungled project will not proceed under a Dutton Coalition government.”

The move would sink the plans of the up to 2 gigawatt (2GW) Novacastrian project being proposed for zone by Norwegian energy giant Equinor and Oceanex Energy – the only project to be awarded a feasibility licence in the zone so far, and tipped to be Australia’s first floating offshore wind project.

The proposed project has strong local ties through Oceanex, which was established in Australia in 2020 by two of the founders of what will likely be the nation’s first operational offshore wind farm, the 2GW Star of the South in Victoria.

The company commissioned and in 2022 published an extensive Supply Chain mapping report for the offshore wind industry and Oceanex CEO and co-founder Andy Evans has said he hopes to have the $10 billion 130-turbine Novocastrian project under construction from 2030.

“It’s is the biggest energy user, with the most black coal coming off the market, so we were always enthused by New South Wales – and particularly the Hunter,” Evans told Renew Economy in June.

“It’s been a powerhouse, powering New South Wales and Australia for almost 100 years. Great deepwater port, great skill sets… great workforce used to big projects. So it was a really natural site for us to look at.”

This was once the opinion of the federal Coalition, too, and former federal energy minister Angus Taylor, who in September 2021 trumpeted the successful passage through parliament of the Offshore Energy Infrastructure Bill, paving the way for the development of offshore wind farms in Australian waters.

“An offshore electricity industry in Australia will further strengthen our economy,” Taylor said at the time

“Offshore generation and transmission can deliver significant benefits to all Australians through a more secure and reliable electricity system, and create thousands of new jobs and business opportunities in regional Australia.”

The following year, just before the Morrison LNP was tossed out of government, the then NSW Coalition government confirmed through state parliament that it was working with Taylor “to support the implementation of the legislation, including prioritising consideration of areas offshore from both Newcastle and Wollongong.”

Still, the about face on offshore wind is straight from the playbook of Dutton’s federal Coalition, which has promised to cap solar and wind projects, tear up offshore wind contracts and throw the entire Australian energy transition into chaos with a half-baked plan for nuclear power.

In a press conference at Shoal Bay on Thursday, Dutton really leaned in.

“The decision that we’ve taken as a Coalition is to make sure that we rip up these contracts, to make sure that we make it very clear that we will not proceed with the offshore turbines as proposed by the Albanese government,” he said.

Indeed, the leader of the National Party David Littleproud in June went to Wollongong to personally campaign against the Illawarra offshore wind zone, a separate and even smaller declared development area off the NSW coast, telling a small crowd “the National Party, part of a future Coalition government, will not allow this to happen.

“Our economy can’t function on intermittent part time power, we need strong baseload power,” Dutton continued at Shoal Bay, in direct contrast to the best advice and planning of the Australian Energy Market Operator, the CSIRO and countless other energy market experts.

It’s also worth noting that the International Energy Agency classifies offshore wind as a “variable baseload technology” which makes it closer to the capacity of gas and coal-fired power plants, than onshore wind and solar PV.

“As Premier Minns pointed out the other day, people are going to have blackouts and we’re going to have disruption to supply without an adequate baseload power to firm up the renewables,” Dutton continued.

“The local IGA, the local butcher’s shop, the local fruit shop – whatever it might be – your own household, your fridge and your freezers and cold rooms can’t run on intermittent power. We need 24/7 reliable power. Pretending that that’s not the case is just going to make it harder for Australians.”

The Hunter offshore wind zone, the first to be declared for NSW, will be the first to host floating offshore wind because of the depth of waters. Public consultation on the first NSW offshore wind zone attracted just shy of 2,000 submissions over a 65-day consultation period.

At just 1,800 square kilometres – vs roughly 15,000 square kilometres of the Gippsland zone in Victoria – it is relatively small, having been pared back and pushed to a minimum 20kms out from the coast by federal energy minister Chris Bowen to balance the views of the local community, local industry, and sea users.

“The Albanese Labor government has listened to community feedback and revised the offshore wind zone accordingly to ensure it coexists alongside whale migration, bird and sea life, and our shipping industry,” Bowen said at the time.

Federal Labor has yet to respond to requests for comment on Dutton’s announcement on Thursday, which includes an invitation “to join us in rescinding this project.”

The Smart Energy Council says Dutton’s move to scrap the offshore wind zone that the Coalition “welcomed to Australia with open arms” when in government is “terrifying and damaging.”

“Australia has an Offshore Wind Industry because the Liberal and National Coalition wrote the policy that went with the invitation to setup up shop here,” SEC CEO John Grimes said in a statement on Thursday.

“Having failed to land an energy policy for their entire ten years in government, Peter Dutton’s Coalition is now proposing to do away with a clean energy source that will reliably power millions of Australian homes and businesses.

“The Liberal and National Party are doing everything they can to ensure Australians remain locked into the most expensive, filthy and unreliable forms of electricity generation, coal and gas.”

“The notion that Peter Dutton and David Littleproud are opposed to Offshore Wind because they’re born again environmentalists would be laughable, if it wasn’t so terrifying and damaging”

The Clean Energy Council, too, expressed its horror over Dutton’s move and its potential impact on investment.

“Today’s announcement from the Leader of the Opposition will send shockwaves through offshore wind investors and risks undermining investment confidence in offshore wind and other energy and infrastructure sectors across Australia,” said CEC chief Kane Thornton.

“The historical bipartisan support for offshore wind – with the Coalition introducing the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure legislation in 2021 – has attracted strong interest and investment from global leaders in offshore wind,” Thornton said.

“Offshore wind also provides a substantial opportunity to create new jobs and economic opportunities for regional communities such as the Hunter over coming decades.”