Spanish energy giant Iberdrola is seeking federal approval for an up to 3 gigawatt wind project off the coast of Victoria, marking a welcome step forward for Australia’s nascent but faltering offshore wind industry.
Iberdrola Australia’s proposal for Aurora Green Offshore Wind joined the EPBC queue on Tuesday morning, setting out the plans for a 150-turbine project in the declared Gippsland zone, where a total of 11 projects have been awarded feasibility licences.
The forward momentum of the Iberdrola project offers some much-needed positive news for the fledgling industry, which over the past month has been hit by fresh delays and another project withdrawal.
Iberdrola says the 3 GW Aurora Green project will be located between 25 km and 50 km offshore from the towns of Woodside Beach and Seaspray, covering an area of 700 km2, in water that is between 40 and 60 metres deep.
Aurora Green project footprint. Source: Iberdrola
As well as the up to 150 wind turbines, the project will includes inter array cables and offshore substations, an export cable corridor to transmit electricity onshore, and an onshore connection point including a substation located within the VicGrid Connection Hub.
Iberdrola says the wind farm would supply renwable energy to up to 2.25 million households and prpvide 600 “long-lasting, skilled jobs” during operation and more than 1,800 jobs during construction.
The referral documents note that the project footprint includes biologically important areas (BIA) for a number of marine and bird species, including the White Shark, Southern Right Whale and Pygmy Blue Whale.
Iberdrola says the project avoids intersection with nearby Australian Marine Parks (AMP), including the Ninety Mile Beach Marine National Park, which lies directly adjacent to the Referral Area.
The documents also note that the project area and export cable investigation area includes eight commercial fisheries and intersects the Tasmanian Gas Pipeline, which transports gas from Longford in Victoria, under Bass Strait, to Bell Bay in Tasmania.
The northern corridor of the export cable investigation area contains Esso’s Perch and Dolphin platforms, and the Perch to Dolphin to Shore oil pipeline intersects the offshore cable investigation area.
Earlier this month, Iberdrola named Norwegian company Global Maritime Australia as the marine services company it has appointed for the Aurora Green project, with the first job being attending the installation of a LiDAR buoy.
The EPBC referral of Aurora Green follows the much less positive news, last month, that the Victorian Labor government was delaying its landmark first tender for offshore wind capacity, having aimed to kick it off in September.
October 2025 map of Gippsland offshore wind feasibility licences. Image: Victoria Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Change
The delay was announced at an industry forum in Melbourne, with state energy minister Lily D’Ambrosio putting the blame partly on the federal government for not fully committing to the industry.
“I am disappointed to announce that Victoria will be delaying the formal procurement process for our first offshore wind auction,” D’Ambrosio said at the time.
“For some context for the delay, we lost about 12 months from our original timelines because of delays that are outside our control as a state, including in issuing feasibility licenses and finalising regulations, and as a result of the original rejection of the Port of Hastings EPBC referral.
“In addition to that, we are very conscious of changes in the international market and supply chains that need to be factored into our planning.”
In a further blow to the fledgling industry, German energy giant RWE last week announced the cancellation of its 2 gigawatt (GW) Kent project in the Gippsland zone, saying its competitiveness in current market conditions did not stand up.
Instead, the company said it would train its focus in Australia on big batteries – and the nation’s first eight hour battery, specifically – and a 3GW pipeline of onshore wind projects.
Iberdrola, too, has a major interest in big batteries in Australia, with 11 projects at some point in the development cycle.
The company also operates the Lake Bonney battery next to its wind farm, is commissioning the 65 MW, 130 megawatt hour (MWh) Smithfield battery next to an existing gas plant in NSW, and is building the 180 MW, 360 MWh Broadsound solar farm battery in Queensland.
