Australia Advances Offshore Wind Energy Granting Two Feasibility Licenses

 

Australia continues its efforts to launch its first offshore wind energy projects. A year after declaring offshore zones and selecting the first potential projects, the government granted two more feasibility licenses to proceed with the planning for wind farms in the Southern Ocean and the other for the Pacific Ocean.

Only in the past few years did Australia pass its first framework legislation to establish the process for developing offshore wind energy sites. The government selected areas and began accepting project applications in the multi-step planning process.

Projects back industry majors were the latest to be moved from provisional licenses to full feasibility licenses. One project, Novocastrain Wind is owned by Equinor and Oceanex Energy. It calls for up to 2.1 GW of installed capacity off the Hunter coast of New South Wales. The other is Spinifex being co-developed by Parkwind, which is part of JERA, and Alinta Energy. It proposes 1.2 GW which would be equivalent to 10 percent of Victoria’s electricity needs.

Each of the projects received licenses that grant the rights to explore the proposed projects, seek environmental approvals, and prepare a management plan. The management plan needs to be approved before they can begin feasibility activities and must address how the project will interact with shipping and fisheries.

With the approvals, the projects can undertake research and marine studies. This may include the use of lidar buoys to assess wind and other ocean conditions. They can also proceed with detailed environmental assessments and engage with the business community to develop the supply chain. The feasibility licenses provide for up to seven years. The companies then would submit construction plans for approval.

The companies hailed these steps are important milestones in the development of offshore wind energy for Australia. Each has been undertaking preliminary work. They highlighted the need for more work but said it would support moving forward with the investments to develop these projects.

RWE was granted one of the first feasibility licenses from the Australian Government in July 2024 for the development of an offshore wind farm. To be located in the Bass Strait, off the Gippsland coast in Victoria, it is expected this could become Australia’s first project. The area was Australia’s first designated offshore wind zone. RWE said it would use the feasibility process to apply for a commercial license to build and operate the wind farm for up to 40 years anticipating it could be commissioned in the 2030s with up to 2 GW of capacity.