“Momentous:” Labor begins process to declare Australia’s first offshore wind zone – EQ Mag Pro

Australia’s renewables industry has hailed as “momentous” the news that the federal government has officially commenced the process to declare Gippsland, in Victoria, as Australia’s first zone for offshore wind project development.

Public consultation on the proposed Bass Strait off Gippsland region will begin immediately, the Albanese government said on Friday morning, to work with communities, environmental groups, industry and the maritime sector on establishing the potentially massive new industry.

The step, which industry insiders say is “huge,” follows the long-awaited September 2021 tabling of legislation to enable offshore wind projects to be built in commonwealth waters by former federal energy minister Angus Taylor, and its passage into law roughly one month later.

The Bass Strait Gippsland region, which was also singled out for priority development by the former Morrison government, has so far attracted more than 6,000MW of potential projects to the development pipeline.

These include Macquarie’s Green Investment Group, looking to build a 1,000MW Great Southern wind project, Energy Estate and BlueFloat Energy’s 1,300MW Greater Gippsland project, and another project being proposed by Alinta.

But the true trail-blazer in the region is the massive 2,200MW Star of the South project, which is being developed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Cbus and its original Australian co-founders Andy Evans, Terry Kallis and Peter Sgardelis.

For Star of the South, the launch of public consultations in Gippsland is believed to effectively ordain it as Australia’s first offshore wind project to go ahead, almost 10 years to the day since it was first proposed.

The project is currently in the feasibility stage with environmental assessments also underway to inform project planning and approvals. The company says that, pending approvals, works could start by the mid-2020s with full power generation before the end of the decade.

Importantly, the Albanese government has designated another five regions with “world-class” offshore wind energy potential that also will be prioritised in the establishment of the new industry.

Source: reneweconomy