Australia awards first feasibility licences for offshore wind projects

Australia has granted the first of 6 feasibility licences for a major offshore wind precinct off the coast of Victoria.

Australia has granted feasibility licences for 6 offshore wind projects located off the coast of Gippsland in Victoria. Another 6 feasibility licences are pending.

If these 12 projects prove viable and gain development approval, the Gippsland wind precinct could generate up to 25 GW of electricity. The endeavour would create a combined 15,000 construction jobs and 7,500 ongoing roles.

Global consortiums behind offshore wind projects

The 6 projects and their developers include the following.

Star of the South Wind Farm

The Southerly Ten consortium is proposing the 2.2 GW Star of the South project. The consortium comprises Denmark’s Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Australian superannuation fund Cbus and Australian co-founders Andy Evans, Terry Kallis and Peter Sgardelis.

Kut-Wut Brataualung

Southerly Ten is also behind the 2.2 GW Kut-Wut Brataualung project.

High Sea Wind

Spanish Ocean Winds has proposed a project with an installed capacity of 1.28 GW. Ocean Winds is a 50/50 joint venture between EDP Renewables and Engie.

Gippsland Skies

A consortium of Australian and international companies is behind the 2.5 GW Gippsland Skies project. They include AGL, Mainstream Renewable Power, Reventus Power and Direct Infrastructure. The consortium expects the project to be one of the first offshore wind projects to reach commercial operation in Australia.

Ørsted Offshore Australia 1 (Gippsland 01)

Danish wind company Ørsted was awarded a licence for its 2.8 GW Gippsland 1 wind farm. The Danish wind company has an adjacent 2 GW wind project that is waiting on a feasibility licence. Ørsted says its Gippsland projects can potentially generate a combined 4.8 GW of renewable energy.

Blue Mackerel North

The sixth project to be granted a feasibility licence is Blue Mackerel North, a Parkwind/JERA Nex consortium.

More feasibility licences pending

The Government intends to grant another six licences, subject to First Nations consultation.

These include:

• Iberdrola Australia OW 2 Pty Ltd (Aurora Green)
• Greater Gippsland 2 OWP Project Pty Ltd, with BlueFloat Energy (Gippsland Dawn)
• Navigator North Project Pty Ltd
• Ørsted Offshore Australia 1 Pty Ltd (Gippsland 02)
• Kent Offshore Wind Pty Ltd
• Great Eastern Offshore Wind Farm Project Co.

Offshore wind opportunities in Australia

Australia has identified six priority areas for offshore wind development.

Developers can apply for a feasibility licence for the Southern Ocean region off Victoria until 2 July 2024.

The feasibility licence allows developers to undertake detailed environmental assessments and geotechnical surveys; obtain approvals; and undertake further consultation on their proposed projects with First Nations groups, communities and marine users. If developers can prove the project’s feasibility, they can apply for a commercial licence to build the project.

The Victorian Government will seek expressions of interest for the first offshore wind project tenders later this year.

Find out more about Australia’s offshore wind sector and opportunities for investors.

Go further, faster with Austrade