Key Takeaways
- Victoria is moving forward with offshore wind plans, looking for private sector partners to build transmission infrastructure for Gippsland’s wind farms.
- The Gippsland Offshore Wind project is set to create an average of 600 jobs annually during construction, with peak job numbers reaching 1460 in 2027.
- Concerning future offshore wind developments, federal opposition leader Peter Dutton has threatened to cancel existing contracts and development zones.
Just days after the leader of the federal opposition threw Australia’s offshore wind plans into doubt with a pledge to scrap a declared development zone and “rip up contracts,” Victoria is forging ahead with plans to connect the nation’s first projects.
Victorian Labor energy minister Lily D’Ambrosio on Tuesday launched the call for expressions of interest (EoI) to build the transmission infrasreucture necessary to connect Gippsland’s new offshore wind farms to the grid.
D’Ambrosio says the process will see VicGrid select the best private sector organisations to help it design, build, finance, operate and maintain the onshore transmission infrastructure crucial to the state’s looming offshore wind target of 2 gigawatts (GW) by 2032.
“VicGrid is looking for a development and construction partner that will work closely with local communities, Traditional Owners and landholders while driving value for money for Victorian energy users,” the government says.
“This project is expected to create an average of 600 jobs a year in the construction phase, peaking at 1460 during 2027. Construction is expected to commence in late 2027 and the infrastructure will begin operating in 2030.”
Plans for the Gippsland Offshore Wind Transmission 2 GW Project in October joined the queue for a green tick through the federal government’s Environment Protection & Biodiversity Conservation Act, around six months after they were first made public by VicGrid.
The plans for a “broad study area” for the new double circuit 330 kV or 500 kV overhead transmission line were first put forward in March, when VicGrid called for feedback from local communities and landholders. VicGrid said at the time that underground lines were ruled out due to cost, engineering complexity, procurement and timing.
D’Ambrosio said this week that communities and Traditional Owners that host any of the new offshore wind transmission lines will benefit from special funds created by the state government, while landowners who host transmission infrastructure will get $200,000 per kilometre, on top of existing compensation for loss of land value.
“We are getting on with the job of developing Australia’s first offshore wind industry which will deliver affordable and reliable power to Victorian homes and businesses,” the minister said on Tuesday.
“Industry has a crucial role to play in the energy transition and we are looking for a transmission partner that shares our commitment to deliver the best outcomes for local communities in Gippsland.”
VicGrid, which is in the process of taking over transmission planning from the Australian Energy Market Operator, is facing pressure from the renewables industry to get cracking on the infrastructure needed to connect the nation’s first lot of offshore wind farms to the grid.
Charles Rattray, CEO of the 2.2 gigawatt Star of the South project – largely expected to be Australia’s first completed offshore wind farm – has warned that no developers will start building anything until the onshore grid infrastructure plans are firm.
So far, in Australia’s first officially declared offshore wind development zone, a total of 12 projects have been granted feasibility licences by the federal government.
These licences give the companies exclusive seven-year seabed rights to develop their project – including site and environmental investigations and community consultation – and to apply for a commercial licence to build and operate a wind farm. They do not guarantee final approval.
Elsewhere in Australia, only one other project has been awarded a feasibility licence by federal Labor – the up to 2 GW Novacastrian project being proposed for development by Norwegian energy giant Equinor and Oceanex Energy in the Hunter offshore wind zone off the coast of New South Wales.
But the fate of that project was thrown into doubt last week, when Peter Dutton pledged to “rescind” the Hunter offshore wind zone – an 1,800km2 area between Swansea and Port Stephens that was declared by federal Labor in July last year – if a Coalition government is elected in 2025.
“The decision that we’ve taken as a Coalition is to make sure that we rip up these contracts, to make sure that we make it very clear that we will not proceed with the offshore turbines as proposed by the Albanese government,” Dutton said.
The Hunter offshore wind zone, the first to be declared for NSW, will be the first to host floating offshore wind because of the depth of waters. Public consultation on the first NSW offshore wind zone attracted just shy of 2,000 submissions over a 65-day consultation period.
