The developer of Australia’s most advanced offshore wind project has underlined the importance of Victoria’s upcoming offshore wind auction.
This will see an initial two gigawatts of capacity receive financing support, with developers to bid as part of – as the Victorian Government describes it – a “competitive auction process” aimed at delivering “value for money”.
Southerly Ten chief executive officer Charles Rattray – who is overseeing the Star of the South project – said it’s critical the auction “goes off without a hitch”.
“Australia requires a lot of domestic and international capital to help get the offshore wind industry off the ground,” he told Energy.
“While we’ve been working closely with State and Federal Government on how to bring this to life, we’re not alone in this – everyone in this space is well aware the auction is coming, and everyone’s tooled up for what is to come.”
Other developers set to bid as part of the auction include Ørsted (to support its Gippsland 1 and 2 projects), Iberdrola Australia (to support its Aurora Green project), and JERA Nex bp (for its Blue Mackerel project). There are five other active offshore wind feasibility licences which could participate in the auction.
Last week saw the launch of the Gippsland Offshore Wind Sector Plan in Sale, designed to guide the development of the region’s emerging offshore wind sector.
“Gippsland has a real opportunity to lead the development of offshore wind in Australia, and this plan provides a clear pathway to make that happen,” Gippsland Offshore Wind Alliance co-chair Darren McCubbin said.
“We’re not starting from scratch, we have the resources, capability and community interest already in place, and this plan helps bring it all together.”
The Gippsland Offshore Wind Sector Plan clearly outlines the scope of the region’s offshore wind sector, along with five key focus areas to making the industry a reality.
Committee for Gippsland and the Gippsland Climate Change Network plan to present the Sector Plan to state and federal officials in Melbourne and Canberra.
Read the Gippsland Offshore Wind Sector Plan here.
