Uncertainty over $8 billion offshore wind project as key staff let go

Uncertainty surrounds the future of an $8 billion wind proposed off the coast of a key energy region, with staff let go and operators unlikely to bid for government funding.

The proposal involves building some 110 wind turbines off the coast of Victoria’s Gippsland as part of the Navigator North project, located about 38 kilometres from tourist hotspot Lakes Entrance.

It’s the latest in a string of delayed or cancelled wind projects nationally, with the state government’s renewable energy strategy relying on wind as a key source of energy as coal power stations are switched off.

The Gippsland project was meant to be able to power the equivalent of one million homes, but the companies behind it have revealed they don’t plan to bid for government funding that would allow it to open as planned in 2032.

AAP understands five staff members have been let go from the joint venture between Origin Energy and renewable energy company RES while other workers have been redeployed elsewhere.

An Origin spokesperson said a final decision is yet to be made and development will continue as they await details on future funding rounds.

Six zones off NSW, Victoria and Western Australia are designated zones for offshore wind farms but none have yet been built, with more than one tenth of the nation’s energy created by land turbines.

In recent months the $10 billion Gippsland Dawn project was shut down over shareholder concern about the industry’s viability while the Novocastrian Offshore Wind Farm off Newcastle is also in doubt.

Internationally, offshore wind farms are on the decline and the United States government has reversed approvals for some already being built.

Victoria has a target of 65 per cent renewable energy by the end of the decade and government figures revealed it had reached almost 38 per cent by July 2024.

Senior minister Sonya Kilkenny insisted the renewable energy sector maintained confidence operating in Victoria.

“We’ll continue to work with all stakeholders to ensure we’re delivering the transition to renewable energy,” she told reporters in Melbourne.

It comes as the federal government prepares to unveil its 2035 emission reduction target in coming weeks.

AAP