This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
A $19.5 million Victorian government investment has enabled the first investigation to test seabed conditions off the Gippsland coast for the proposed Star of the South offshore wind energy project.
The investment goes towards pre-construction for Star of the South Offshore Wind Project through the Energy Innovation Fund.
“This will be the first marine geotechnical campaign in Australia for offshore wind energy – which is a huge achievement for Victoria as it makes the transition from coal to renewables,” said Lily D’Ambrosio, minister for energy and resources.
Victoria is set to be home to Australia’s first offshore wind farm and has offshore wind energy targets of at least 2 gigawatts of capacity by 2032, 4 gigawatts by 2035 and 9 gigawatts by 2040.
When first announced last March, first power was scheduled to be delivered by 2028, with the farm’s capacity to reflect the equivalent of 20% of the state’s current energy needs, while Victoria’s demand for electricity is anticipated to grow by three to six times by 2050.
“Offshore Wind energy will play a critical role in helping Victoria to achieve its target of net-zero emissions by 2045 and Gippsland will be at the centre of this transformation,” said Tom McIntosh, member for Eastern Victoria.
The study will see a specialist vessel and crew will spend five weeks at sea collecting soil and rock samples from up to 70 metres beneath the seafloor, with the findings to help design the proposed offshore wind energy farm to suit local seabed conditions.
With the investigation also collecting samples from 22 different locations within the project’s 2019 Exploration Licence area.
“Gippsland will be a critical part of Victoria’s off-shore wind energy industry which is already attracting lots of local investment that in turn will create regional jobs driving the transformation of the state’s energy sector,” said Jordan Crugnale, member for Bass.
Victoria’s transition from coal to renewables—including wind energy—is expected to generate $9.5 billion for the economy and create up to 59,000.
The state will also host a largest wind farm in the country and the hemisphere in the $3 billion Golden Plains Wind Farm project in Rokewood, outside of Geelong.
The state government will release a series of Offshore Wind Implementation Statements to support and guide industry and the Victorian community on the development of the offshore wind sector.
Offshore Wind Energy Victoria is also set to design a support package to provide certainty for project developers and financiers to deliver offshore wind projects in Victoria.
