The Australian Government has granted the first set of feasibility licences for proposed offshore wind projects off Gippsland’s coast in Victoria.
Related article: Gippsland officially named Australia’s first offshore wind zone
Six proposed offshore wind projects have been awarded feasibility licences, including High Sea Wind, Gippsland Skies, Blue Mackerel North, Kut-Wut Brataualung, Ørsted Offshore Australia 1 (Gippsland 01), and Star of the South (SOTS).
Six more companies have progressed through assessment and will now undertake First Nations consultation. They are Iberdrola Australia OW 2 (Aurora Green), Greater Gippsland 2 OWP Project (Gippsland Dawn), Navigator North Project, Ørsted Offshore Australia 1 (Gippsland 02), Kent Offshore Wind, and Great Eastern Offshore Wind Farm Project Co.
The government said the feasibility licence application process was highly competitive, with 37 applications received.
The Offshore Infrastructure Registrar assessed all applications against the merit criteria set out in the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021. The merit criteria includes:
- technical and financial capability
- likely project viability
- applicant suitability, and
- the national interest.
The declared area off Gippsland covers approximately 15,000 square kilometres. It is offshore of Lakes Entrance in the east, to south of Wilsons Promontory in the west.
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The Gippsland area is one of six priority areas identified for offshore wind development in Australian Commonwealth waters.
