Australia’s Minister for Climate Change and Energy has proposed an area in the Southern Ocean to be zoned for the development of offshore wind projects.
The area covers 5,100 square kilometres from off Warrnambool, Victoria, in the southeast to off Port MacDonnell, South Australia, in the northwest.
The Australian authorities believe that the offshore wind zone could provide a home for up to 14GW of offshore wind capacity, enough to power over eight million homes.
The Australian Government is looking to harness renewable energy resources to help decarbonise the economy with year-round clean energy generation. This will reduce emissions and boost the share of renewables in the electricity grid.
According to documents provided by the Ministry for Climate Change and Energy, the Southern Ocean Region is well suited for potential projects, particularly offshore wind due to its strong, consistent winds and its proximity to areas of high electricity demand including the Portland Aluminium Smelter and existing connections to the grid.
The area is within the Victorian Government’s planned Southwest Renewable Energy Zone and can be a replacement for ageing coal-fired power stations planned to be shut down in future years.
Another positive for Australia is the estimate that the offshore wind zone could provide 3,000 jobs for 15 years during development and construction, with a further 3,000 during ongoing operations.
This proposed area is now open for consultation and the Minister may remove parts of the proposed area or place conditions on all or part of the area, before making a final declaration.
In a recent update regarding its renewable energy targets, the Victorian Government said that it wants to have 65% of its energy produced by renewables by 2030. This increases to 95% by 2035. It is also targeting at least 2GW of offshore wind energy generation by 2032, 4GW by 2035, and 9GW by 2040, with first power expected by 2028.
There are six zones Australia is considering for offshore wind development. Two have already been designated, Hunter Valley and in the Bass Strait, while the Southern Ocean zone is supposed to be the third.
As for the remaining three, one is off Illawarra in the Pacific Ocean, another in the Bass Strait off Northern Tasmania, and the final is off Perth in the Indian Ocean.
