The Borssele I&II offshore wind farm. Image by Ørsted (www.orsted.com)
The Australian government on Wednesday granted licences to six projects to study the feasibility of building offshore wind parks in its first offshore development zone off the coast of Gippsland, Victoria, with the potential for six more to follow.
The schemes have been awarded feasibility licenses, allowing their developers to undertake detailed environmental assessments, geotechnical surveys, obtain approvals and undertake further consultation on their proposed projects. The studies will be conducted within the 15,000 sq km zone which was officially declared in the summer of 2022 as part of the nation’s ambitions to become net-zero by 2050.
Provided that feasibility is proven, developers can apply for a commercial licence to build their offshore wind farms.
The list of first-round winners includes the High Sea Wind Project North, proposed by Spain’s EDP Renewables and French energy group Engie; the Gippsland Skies by Aussie utility AGL, Mainstream Renewable Power, Reventus Power and Direct Infrastructure; Blue Mackerel North; Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP)’s Kut-Wut Brataualung and Star of the South projects; and the 2.8-GW Gippsland 01 scheme put forward by Ørsted Offshore Australia.
The feasibility licence application process was “highly competitive,” with a total of 37 applications received for the offshore zone. The government said six more projects could be awarded feasibility licenses once they complete consultations with Indigenous groups. Those further proposals were launched by Iberdrola Australia OW 2 Pty Ltd with the Aurora Green project, Greater Gippsland 2 OWP Project Pty Ltd with Gippsland Dawn, Navigator North Project Pty Ltd, Ørsted Offshore Australia 1 Pty Ltd and its 2-GW Gippsland 02, Kent Offshore Wind Pty Ltd, and Great Eastern Offshore Wind Farm Project Co Pty Ltd.
Altogether, the 12 selected projects could deliver 25 GW of installed offshore turbine capacity. The government said it has decided not to grant feasibility licences to the remaining 25 applicants.
Victoria is pursuing a goal of deploying at least 2 GW of offshore wind generation capacity by 2032, 4 GW by 2035 and 9 GW by 2040.
