“Momentous:” Labor begins process to declare Australia’s first offshore wind zone

Australia’s renewables industry has hailed as “momentous” the news that the federal government has officially commenced the process to declare Gippsland, in Victoria, as Australia’s first zone for offshore wind project development.

Public consultation on the proposed Bass Strait off Gippsland region will begin immediately, the Albanese government said on Friday morning, to work with communities, environmental groups, industry and the maritime sector on establishing the potentially massive new industry.

The step, which industry insiders say is “huge,” follows the long-awaited September 2021 tabling of legislation to enable offshore wind projects to be built in commonwealth waters by former federal energy minister Angus Taylor, and its passage into law roughly one month later.

The Bass Strait Gippsland region, which was also singled out for priority development by the former Morrison government, has so far attracted more than 6,000MW of potential projects to the development pipeline.

These include Macquarie’s Green Investment Group, looking to build a 1,000MW Great Southern wind project, Energy Estate and BlueFloat Energy’s 1,300MW Greater Gippsland project, and another project being proposed by Alinta.

But the true trail-blazer in the region is the massive 2,200MW Star of the South project, which is being developed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Cbus and its original Australian co-founders Andy Evans, Terry Kallis and Peter Sgardelis.

For Star of the South, the launch of public consultations in Gippsland is believed to effectively ordain it as Australia’s first offshore wind project to go ahead, almost 10 years to the day since it was first proposed.

The project is currently in the feasibility stage with environmental assessments also underway to inform project planning and approvals. The company says that, pending approvals, works could start by the mid-2020s with full power generation before the end of the decade.

Importantly, the Albanese government has designated another five regions with “world-class” offshore wind energy potential that also will be prioritised in the establishment of the new industry.

See RenewEconomy’s Offshore Wind Farm Map of Australia

These include the Pacific Ocean regions off the Hunter and Illawarra in New South Wales, the Southern Ocean region off Portland in Victoria, the Bass Strait region off northern Tasmania, and the Indian Ocean region off Perth/Bunbury in Western Australia.

“Unlocking the offshore wind industry is an exciting new chapter for Australia and we want to build a platform of community collaboration and support around it,” said federal energy minister Chris Bowen on Friday.

“This new industry will provide opportunities to reduce emissions and fast track job and economic development opportunities for regional Australia particularly in clean energy generation and manufacturing.

“Many other countries have been successfully harvesting offshore wind energy for years, and now is the time for Australia to start the journey to firmly establish this reliable and significant form of renewable energy,” Bowen said.

“A local offshore wind sector will deliver a clean energy boost, cut emissions, and create local jobs,” said Star of the South acting CEO Erin Coldham in a statement on Friday.

“It’s encouraging to see the government pushing ahead with offshore wind in Gippsland and keeping the momentum going.

“We encourage all community members to have their say during the required 60-day public consultation process to ensure projects are developed with local input in mind.”

Star of the South co-founder and stakeholder Andy Evans, who is the CEO of fellow offshore wind developer Oceanex Energy, says the news from the Albanese government marks “one of the big days” for the nascent Australian sector.

“Industry is delighted with what really is a momentous day for offshore wind going forward,” Evans told RenewEconomy.

“Offshore wind is more than renewable energy, it’s nationally significant infrastructure, with huge onshore manufacturing, supply chain and job creation potential.”

Star of the South, for example, is expected to create 2,000 Victorian jobs during the project’s development, and 200 ongoing local operational jobs, while generating an estimated $8.7 billion of investment in Victoria.

Evans said it it was expected that the Hunter and Illawarra regions, which sit next in line on the Albanese government’s list of prioritised development zones, might have their own public consultation processes towards the end of this year.

Some 7.5GW of Oceanex’s offshore and floating wind development plans in Australia are earmarked for off the coast of NSW, strategically located for the impending exit of the state’s fleet of coal generators, particularly in the Hunter region.

These proposed projects include the Novocastrian wind farm – a $10 billion 130-turbine floating wind project proposed for around 30km off the Newcastle coast.

“This is a strong move by the Federal Government and recognition that offshore wind will have a key role in getting Australia to 82 per cent renewable energy by 2030,” said Flotation Energy Australia managing director, Tim Sawyer.

“This is the first step to unlock billions of dollars of new investment, create highly skilled jobs, open significant
opportunities.”

And it is just a first step – albeit a big one – to the actual development of offshore wind projects in Australian waters.

As Star of the South noted in a project update on Friday, following a decision on the final areas suitable for development, offshore wind developers will then have the opportunity to apply for a “feasibility licence.”

If granted that licence, projects will then need to undertake detailed technical and environmental studies to test project feasibility and get planning and environmental approvals. And following this comes applications for a commercial licence to install and operate infrastructure.

Here are some more reactions from industry, climate and green groups:

“This is an exciting and critical step in realising a cleaner, cheaper, healthier future that is free of coal and gas,” said Tim Baxter, Climate Council senior researcher and energy expert.

“Just like the new Climate Bill and yesterday’s historic proposed rejection of the Queensland coal mine – this announcement is a symbol of Australia’s climate shift. This is exactly the kind of urgent action we need to reduce pollution this decade.

“Taking advantage of offshore wind brings many advantages to the grid, further improving the reliability of our power supply. Australians can see the importance of this in the current energy crisis which has been exacerbated by the fleet of failing coal and gas generators,” Baxter said.