Australia has issued the first of potentially a dozen feasibility licenses for offshore wind farms, with the potential of 25 GW of generated electricity if all are completed. The awarding of the licenses came a year after Australia closed what it said had been a heavily oversubscribed first solicitation, and which included many of the best-known companies developing offshore wind assets.
Australia adopted a regulatory framework for offshore wind energy at the end of 2021 and designated its first wind zones along the southern coast in 2022. A third location off the west coast was designated in 2023.
The first solicitation focused on the state of Victoria and supplying power to the industrial region of Gippsland. The application window was opened in January 2023. By the time it closed in April 2023, 37 applications for feasibility licenses had been submitted. The level of enthusiasm can be seen by the fact that the aim was to reach 600 MW, but applications were received that could generate 19 GW.
Minister of Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen, announcing the initial selections on May 1st, said that “Australia’s first offshore wind zone has hit a new milestone. Granting feasibility licenses is the next step to helping deliver a new clean energy industry for Australia as well as future proof energy security and reliability for Victoria.”
Six potential projects have been granted or offered the licenses, including Star of the South Wind Farm, backed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. Also included is High Seas Wind, proposed by EDP Renewables and ENGIE, Ørsted’s Gippsland 1, Blue Mackerel North proposed by Parkwind and Beach Energy, Gippsland Skies, and Kut-Wut Brataualung.
The licenses mean that the developers can begin environmental assessments, geotechnical surveys, and management plans to determine feasibility. Subsequently the developers can apply for a commercial license to build an offshore wind project to generate electricity commercially. It could take seven years before the first projects would become operational.
The federal government plan is to award six additional licenses from this solicitation. Those would include projects from Iberdola, Ørsted, a second supported by CIP, and others. Additional consultations are required before these feasibility permits are issued, while a preliminary decision was also made that 25 other projects that submitted applications will not proceed at this time.
Victoria is aiming for 2 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2032, 4 GW by 2035, and 9 GW by 2040. The 25 GW proposed by the 12 selected projects would be used to replace coal-fired power. It has the potential to cover the Gippsland region’s annual industrial power consumption 100 times over.
