The Minister for Climate Change and Energy has made a preliminary decision to grant a feasibility licence for an offshore wind project in the Southern Ocean area off the Victorian coast.
Spinifex Offshore Wind Farm will move to the next stage of the feasibility licensing process.
If approved, the proposed project could:
- generate 1.2 GW of renewable electricity
- deliver hundreds of jobs during planning, construction and operation phases
- bring economic opportunities to communities.
The Offshore Infrastructure Registrar received 1 feasibility licence application across the 1,030km2 zone.
The final decision on feasibility licences will be made following consultation with First Nations groups.
Offshore wind projects can't be built yet.
Following the grant of a feasibility licence, the feasibility licence holder will:
- consult various organisations and groups that may be impacted by the development, including First Nations groups
- undertake detailed studies, including environmental studies, to determine the viability of their project
- develop management plans to outline how all stages of the project will be undertaken.
Offshore wind offers a energy source for our electricity network that are:
- large scale
- secure
- reliable
- clean.
This decision brings Australia's offshore wind industry another step closer to reality.
