Spain’s BlueFloat eyes 4.3GW of Australian offshore wind projects, with more to come

Australia’s push into offshore wind projects is about to accelerate, with Spanish firm BlueFloat Energy and Australia’s Energy Estate announcing plans to partner in the development of at least 4,300MW of offshore wind capacity in Australian waters.

The partners announced on Wednesday that projects are being proposed at two of New South Wales’ major industrial centres, including a 1.4GW floating wind farm off the coast of the Hunter region and a 1.6GW project off the coast of Wollongong.

The partnership will also develop a 1.3GW project – using bottom-fixed technologies – off the coast of the Gippsland region in Victoria.

The Spanish based BlueFloat is already developing several European offshore wind projects, including in waters off Spain, Portugal, Italy and Scotland and has specialised in the deployment of floating offshore projects.

The partnership’s first project will be the Greater Gippsland Offshore wind project located within the Bass Strait. The project will seek to serve as a renewable energy replacement for the region’s brown coal power stations slated to close and take advantage of the established electricity network infrastructure in the region.

The Hunter Coast Offshore wind project will be located within a proposed renewable energy zone being and will aim to support the exit of the ageing black coal fired generators within the region and supply power to major energy users like the Tomago aluminium smelter.

Likewise, the Wollongong Offshore wind project will be located across two sites off the coast of the Illawarra industrial precinct and could ultimately supply renewable electricity for hydrogen production and metals processing within the precinct.

Additional projects off the coasts of Tasmania, South Australia and Victoria, are also in the works, with the partners expecting to announce further details in early 2022.

BlueFloat is a relatively new venture, formed within the last 18-months with the backing of the US-based 547 Energy – itself the renewable energy investment wing of the US$17 billion (A$24 billion) private equity firm Quantum Energy Partners – and has brought together several experienced personnel in offshore wind developments.

BlueFloat’s newly appointed Australian manager, former Commonwealth Bank global head of project finance, Nick Sankey, said the recent passage of federal legislation that lifted an effective prohibition on Australian offshore wind projects had facilitated the company’s entry into the Australian market.

“The timing of our announcement comes hot on the heels of Australia’s Federal Government passing legislation that provides a framework for developing offshore wind projects here,” Sankey said.

“This is a pivotal step as the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Bill 2021 establishes a regulatory scaffold to enable the construction, installation, commissioning, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of offshore electricity infrastructure.”

Sankey told RenewEconomy that the company saw value in seizing the ‘first mover’ advantage in developing an offshore wind farms, and BlueFloat would seek to draw upon its previous experience in Europe to build some of the first in Australian waters.

Sankey added that the company was conscious of previously announced offshore wind projects being considered in Australia – such as the 2,200MW Star of the South project also proposed for the Gippsland region – and that it sees opportunities to improve the value of projects by building common infrastructure, such as transmission network links, which could support multiple projects.

See RenewEconomy’s newly updated Offshore Wind Farm Map of Australia here

Australia’s wind industry has so far been entirely focused on the development of onshore projects, given the abundance of suitable onshore sites with good wind availability that make projects easier to construct.

There are benefits to the development of offshore wind projects, that can achieve much larger yields and capacity factors by deploying larger turbines into areas with strong ocean winds.

While no offshore wind projects have yet been constructed in Australian waters, there is a growing list of projects joining the development pipeline.

BlueFloat and Energy Estate said that they shared the ‘same ethos’ when it came to project development, including recognising the need for engagement with First Nations groups and local communities and supporting their active involvement in the development of offshore wind projects.

Energy Estate’s director of engagement, Rosie King, said that the key to the success of the partnership would be the ongoing engagement by both companies with local communities and governments.

“BlueFloat Energy and Energy Estate’s shared set of values includes actively taking steps to support training and promoting opportunities for workers to move into new roles that will be created by the offshore wind industry,” King said.

“We believe that the best outcomes for stakeholders and local communities will be achieved if governments and the industry collaborate from the outset. Change can be viewed as unsettling, but not if it is managed properly by open engagement with those impacted.”