BlueFloat Energy and Energy Estate grow Australian offshore wind pipeline to 5GW

BlueFloat Energy and Energy Estate have unveiled plans for a new offshore wind farm off the coasts of South Australia and Victoria, bringing their shared pipeline in the country’s waters to more than 5GW.

They plan to build the 1,155MW Southern Winds project at a site 10-30km from the coasts of South Australia and Victoria.

The companies were already planning two other Australian offshore wind projects with a combined capacity of 4.3GW off the coasts of Victoria and New South Wales.

With the Southern Winds project, their Australian offshore wind pipeline now exceeds 5GW, BlueFloat Energy’s CEO Carlos Martin noted.

The two companies described the Southern Winds’ project site as having “world class” wind resources, access to a deep-water port, and access to Victoria’s 500kV grid network. 

They added that South Australia and Victoria both have a skilled local workforce to aid project development. 

Nick Sankey, Australian country manager for BlueFloat Energy, added that the election of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has “shifted the narrative on climate change”, with Albanese promising to turn Australia into a “renewables superpower”.

Under Albanese’s predecessor Scott Morrison, Australia had passed legislation paving the way for offshore wind development.

At a regional level, the government of Victoria is aiming to reach net zero emissions, with targets of 4GW of offshore wind by 2035 and 9GW by 2040. It is seeking its first offshore wind by 2028.

In recent months, the likes of Corio Generation, Copenhagen Energy and Alinta Energy have all announced plans for large offshore wind projects in Australian waters.