Wind Energy – Australia
Federal Labor has officially launched Australia’s domestic offshore wind industry, with the formal declaration of the nation’s first development zone in the Bass Strait off Victoria, and a guarantee to help fast-track the up to 2.2GW Star of the South project as a first priority.
Federal minister for climate and energy Chris Bowen announced the declaration of the zone off the cost of Gippsland on Monday morning, pressing go on a new energy sector for Australia that promises to deliver tens of gigawatts of renewable generation capacity around the country.
In Gippsland alone, where the newly declared area covers roughly 15,000 square kilometres offshore, running from Lakes Entrance in the east to south of Wilsons Promontory in the west, there are more than 10GW of projects proposed for development.
This puts Gippsland on course to secure it’s place as the home of offshore wind in Australia – and to benefit from the opportunities this will bring.
The trailblazing Star of the South project – which is being developed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Cbus and its original Australian co-founders Andy Evans, Terry Kallis and Peter Sgardelis – has been awarded Major Project Status, which amounts to tailored regulatory ‘facilitation’ to help avoid unnecessary delays.
