An Australian-first marine geotechnical campaign is set to support Victoria’s pre-construction phase of its offshore wind project, Star of the South, thanks to a $19.5 million investment.
A specialist vessel and crew will spend five weeks at sea collecting soil and rock samples from up to 70m beneath the seafloor, with the findings to help design the proposed offshore wind energy farm to suit local seabed conditions.
The study will also collect samples from 22 different locations within the project’s 2019 Exploration Licence area.
Victorian Minister for Energy and Resources, Lily D’Ambrosio, announced the start of the campaign.
“This will be the first marine geotechnical campaign in Australia for offshore wind energy – which is a huge achievement for Victoria as it makes the transition from coal to renewables,” Ms D’Ambrosio said.
This was made possible through a $19.5 million Victorian Government investment through the Energy Innovation Fund.
Victoria will be home to Australia’s first offshore wind farm and is leading the nation with its offshore wind energy targets of at least 2GW of capacity by 2032, 4GW by 2035 and 9GW by 2040.
Member for Eastern Victoria Tom McIntosh said, “Offshore Wind energy will play a critical role in helping Victoria to achieve its target of net zero emissions by 2045 and Gippsland will be at the centre of this transformation.”
This transition from coal to more affordable and reliable renewables is expected to generate $9.5 billion in economic development and create up to 59,000 new jobs.
Member for Bass Jordan Crugnale said, “Gippsland will be a critical part of Victoria’s off-shore wind energy industry which is already attracting lots of local investment that in turn will create regional jobs driving the transformation of the state’s energy sector.”
The Victorian Government is also releasing a series of Offshore Wind Implementation Statements to support and guide industry and the Victorian community on the development of the offshore wind sector.
Offshore Wind Energy Victoria (OWEV) is designing a comprehensive support package that will provide the certainty required for project developers and financiers to deliver offshore wind projects in Victoria.
To hear from OWEV Executive Director, Anh Mai, and the work ahead in 2023 visit here.
