Offshore wind contender wins extra time to shore up support for proposed 2GW project

The deadline to apply for a feasibility licence in Western Australia’s Bunbury offshore wind zone has been extended for a third time, giving a fourth contender extra time to shore up support for a 2 gigawatt project it is proposing for the already crowded area.

The Bunbury offshore wind zone was officially declared by federal energy minister Chris Bowen in September last year, after bring reduced in size, cut into two parts and pushed further off the WA coast.

Perth-based outfit Wind with Purpose (WWP) is proposing to develop the Catalpa Offshore Wind Farm in the Bunbury zone roughly 40 km from the WA coast, in partnership with Barrington Energy and the Gnaala Karla Booja Aboriginal Corporation (GKB).

WWP said on Friday that the extended consultation period for its feasibility licence application – which Renew Economy is seeking to confirm with the federal government – will allow it to advance detailed discussions with prospective Tier 1 industry partners.

The company says securing the right partners is essential to its plan to deliver “a high-quality, community-backed” project that is designed to boost industrial decarbonisation and energy security in Kwinana Industrial Area.

“The extension gives us the space to progress conversations with prospective partners while ensuring strong alignment with Catalpa’s vision and values,” Catalpa CEO Chris Kearney said in a statement on Friday.

“Catalpa is deeply rooted in community engagement, investment, and long-term benefits for First Nations and regional communities. We look forward to progressing our discussions and moving another step closer to making the Catalpa Offshore Wind Farm a reality.”

The offshore wind zone off the coast of Bunbury is the sixth to be declared in Australia, after being reduced to around 4,000 square kilometres and split in half by a shipping zone. It sits 30 km from shore at its closest point, Cape Naturaliste, and 40-50 km from most coastal towns.

Bowen has so far awarded a feasibility licence to the 1.5 gigawatt (GW) Bunbury Offshore Wind Farm in the northern section of the zone, while two projects have been shortlisted for a feasibility licence in the southern section: Bunbury Offshore Wind Project South and Westward Wind Project.

The project locations for the shortlisted projects currently overlap, and Bowen has said that if the overlap can be resolved between the developers, he will consider offering them feasibility licences.

Earlier in the year, speculation arose that the government had struggled to draw firm proposals for the WA offshore wind zone, with the deadline to apply for feasibility licences pushed back twice, already.

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.

But Bowen has refuted any suggestions that interest in the Indian Ocean zone is evaporating, and in March confirmed there were four projects vying for a spot.

“Not all four will get support; there’s not room for all four. I will decide which bid or bids provide the best option for Western Australia,” the minister said at the time.

Renew Economy is seeking comment from both the federal energy minister and from WWP.

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