A consortium consisting of Simply Blue Group, Subsea7 and local renewable energy developer Spark Renewables has announced plans to develop the 2GW Sea Fern Floating Offshore Wind project in the newly declared Pacific Ocean off the Hunter wind zone, in New South Wales.
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Sea Fern Floating Offshore Wind is currently at the inception phase of applying for a Feasibility Licence under the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021. A Feasibility Licence, if granted, will enable the project team to consult and work collaboratively with the community, businesses, and industry.
Simply Blue Group, Subsea7 and Spark Renewables will be working with local specialist contractors to design a stakeholder engagement framework.
“The Sea Fern Floating Offshore Wind team will seek to listen to and engage with communities to build and maintain a long-term relationship with Newcastle and broader New South Wales,” Spark Renewables said in a statement.
“Within the 7-year Feasibility Licence period the project team would undertake the necessary technical, environmental and social impact studies, approvals and consultation, to ensure the project will be safe and viable.
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“Success through this process would provide certainty of licensing required for accessing the seabed and represent the start of a long-term project. The development approval would be required by 2030 to start construction, with expected operations running through to the 2060s and beyond.”
