Tasmania backs 2GW Bass Strait offshore wind farm proposed by Norway oil giant

The Equinor-backed plans to develop an offshore wind farm of up to 2GW in the Bass Strait, off the cost of north-eastern Tasmania, have won the backing of the state government through a commitment to source green power from the huge project.

In a Memorandum of Understanding with the owners of the Bass Offshore Wind Energy Project – Australian start-up Nexsphere and Norwegian oil and offshore wind giant Equinor – the Liberal Tasmania government has committed to supporting the giga-scale project once it is generating.

First and foremost, however, the deal commits all three parties to join forces on getting northern Tasmania declared as an Offshore Renewable Energy Zone by the federal government.

Australia’s first official offshore wind development zone was formally declared in December, off the coast of Gippsland in Victoria – also a part of the Bass Strait.

The Gippsland offshore wind zone covers roughly 15,000 square kilometres offshore, running from Lakes Entrance in the east to south of Wilsons Promontory in the west, and at the time of its declaration counted more than 10GW of projects proposed for development.

The Pacific Ocean off the coast of the Hunter region in New South Wales is shaping up to be next in line, with the Albanese government currently reviewing feedback on the area it has proposed to open up to development.

The Bass Offshore wind project, or BOWE, was first proposed in 2022 by Nexsphere, formerly Brookvale Energy, for up to 70 wind turbines off the coast of Tasmania, with a link to connect at George Town, close to the proposed Marinus Link undersea cable to the mainland.

A year later, Equinor was cleared to invest in the project, which aims to be sized at around 1GW to start with, with an eye to supplying the big green hydrogen and green ammonia facilities planned by the likes of Fortescue, Woodside, and more recently Iberdrola for Bell Bay.

“The fixed-bottom project has the potential scale to materially underpin Tasmania’s ambitions for growing renewable energy generation with multiple offtake routes,” said Equinor’s senior director for offshore wind in Australia, Thomas Hansen, in April.

Equinor has also bought into three proposed offshore wind farms in New South Wales – each of up to 2GW off the coast of Newcastle, the Illawarra and Eden – in a deal struck with Australian developer OceanEx in August.

The MoU with the Tasmania government also commits the parties to support the growth of local jobs and economic development in the state’s north, the efficient planning and delivery of transmission infrastructure and port facilities, and to work together on environmental issues and community consultation.

“By signing this MoU, all parties are aligned in their desire to see the project become a significant contributor towards Tasmania’s renewable future, as well as the creator of job opportunities throughout northern Tasmania,” said Nexsphere CEO Glen Kierse.

“Globally, offshore wind is accepted as a significant component of the future renewable energy generation mix.

“This project is a critical link in supporting Tasmania to achieve its world-leading 200 per cent renewable energy target,” Kierse said.

The developers say the next stage of the offshore wind project will be to progress through the feasibility licencing process once the area is declared.

The plan remains for BOWE to have an initial estimated capacity in the gigawatt-scale, subject to state and commonwealth government approvals and customer demand.