Bowen says four projects still competing for spot in Australia’s sixth offshore wind zone
Federal energy minister Chris Bowen says 4 offshore wind energy projects are currently vying for a spot in WA’s Bunbury zone, amid reports that several big-name contenders have abandoned plans to develop there.
At a press conference Bowen insisted it was “not the case” that offshore wind plans for Australia’s sixth declared offshore wind zone had stalled.
At the same conference, Bowen announced funding for a massive green hydrogen project and for a silicon production plant, as well as the results of a major battery tender.
The Bunbury offshore wind zone was officially declared by Bowen in September last year, after bring reduced in size and pushed further off the south-west WA coast to better avoid recreational fishing areas.
The 4,000 square kilometre zone, with the potential to support 11.4 GW of offshore wind capacity, sits 40-50 km out from most coastal towns.
Since the Bunbury zone was declared, speculation has mounted that it has struggled to draw firm proposals, with the deadline to apply for feasibility licences pushed back twice.
As least three developers have dropped plans for WA projects, including OceanEx Energy and German outfit Skyborn Renewables.
Meanwhile, the federal opposition has been working hard to undermine Australia’s progress in offshore wind ever since it set the industry in motion as one of its last acts of government in 2022.
This has included regular threats from federal opposition leader Peter Dutton to rescind declared offshore wind development zones and rip up contracts, while spreading fear and uncertainty about the nascent industry.
In the face of this – and in the rush to advance Labor policies before the federal election date is announced – Bowen has released a flurry of announcements advancing Australia’s offshore wind sector.
But Coalition threats have been enough to shake the confidence of at least one developer – the sole contender for a licence in the Illawarra offshore wind zone, BlueFloat Energy.
Bowen confirmed last month that BlueFloat requested a pause on the feasility licence application process for its 1.6 GW South Pacific project until after the federal election.
For his part, newly re-elected WA Labor state premier Roger Cook said that he had “no opposition” to offshore wind, as an important part of the state’s overall energy mix.