Offshore wind giants awarded licences for major projects in Australia’s Bass Strait

A total of 12 offshore wind farms in the region have now been awarded feasibility licences by the Australian government, with the planned projects backed by a range of major wind developers, including Ørsted, Iberdrola, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and Corio Generation. 

Australia is reliant on fossil fuels to meet most of its existing energy demands and aims to pivot to renewables including offshore wind in line with global climate and energy transition goals. 

The licences give the developers the exclusive rights to develop offshore wind farms in their respective seabed areas in the Bass Strait off the coast of Gippsland, Victoria, in the south of the country. The Australian government finalised a15,000km² area for offshore wind development in the region in 2022.

German utility RWE confirmed on Wednesday (17 July) it was one of six developers or consortiums awarded a feasibility licence by the Australian government for its offshore wind project in the Bass Strait. 

RWE said it received a seven-year seabed lease and the rights to explore the development of its Kent Offshore Wind Farm, which has a potential capacity of up to 2GW. The project is located around 67km from the coast of Gippsland, with average water depths of 59 metres. 

BlueFloat announced its 2.1GW Gippsland Dawn offshore wind project was awarded a feasibility licence in the Bass Strait. The company said the wind farm represents a proposed capital investment of around $10 billion, with a possible construction start date of 2029. 

A joint venture between Australian energy firm Origin Energy and UK-based Renewable Energy Systems (RES) also secured a feasibility licence for their 1.5GW Navigator North project in a 700km² area around 34km from the shore. 

Corio Generation’s 2.5GW Great Eastern Offshore Wind project, around 22km off Wilsons Promontory in Gippsland, was also granted a feasibility licence. 

Overall six offshore wind projects were awarded feasibility licences by the Australian government in the latest round of approvals, joining six other projects that were granted licences in May. 

The projects awarded licences in the latest announcement were: 

• Aurora Green – Iberdrola 
• Greater Gippsland 2 (Gippsland Dawn) – Bluefloat Energy
• Navigator North Project – RES and Origin Energy
• Ørsted Offshore Australia 1 (Gippsland 02) – Ørsted 
• Kent Offshore Wind – RWE
• Great Eastern Offshore Wind Farm Project – Corio Generation 

They join the following projects that were previously awarded feasibility licences: 

• High Sea Wind – Ocean Winds (Engie and EDP Renewables)
• Gippsland Skies – Mainstream Renewables, Reventus Power, AGL Energy and Direct Infrastructure
• Blue Mackerel North – Jera Nex and Parkwind 
• Kut-Wut Brataualung – Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Southerly Ten 
• Ørsted Offshore Australia 1 (Gippsland 01) – Ørsted
• Star of the South Wind Farm – Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Construction and Building Unions Superannuation (CBUS) and Southerly Ten