The coast off of Victoria’s southern Gippsland region has been designated as Australia’s first offshore wind zone. The action will aid the country’s transition away from fossil fuels. The government first granted Major Project Status to an offshore wind project, Star of the South, after establishing this zone.
According to a statement from Australia’s Ministry of Climate Change and Electricity, the zone has been declared for a 15,000 square kilometer (5,792 square miles) area of the Bass Strait and has the capacity to handle more than 10 gigawatts of energy. According to Electric, this is roughly equivalent to the energy produced by five coal plants.
The government stated that over the course of the next 15 years, projects in the new offshore wind zone could sustain 300 ongoing operational jobs in addition to over 3,000 development and construction jobs.
According to a statement from Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic, we want to see more massive projects constructed in the upcoming years. This will facilitate the integration of Australian industry with infrastructure for renewable energy, creating additional jobs for Australian businesses.
Offshore wind, according to Lily D’Ambrosio MP, Minister for Energy and Resources, could assist Victoria in achieving its target of 95% renewable energy by 2035 and ultimately provide renewable energy to millions of households and businesses. The government predicts that by 2050, the region may support 13 gigawatts of wind energy capacity because of Victoria’s breezy coasts.
The nation’s first offshore wind farm, Star of the South, is the first offshore wind project to be granted Major Project Status. With 200 wind turbines, the project is anticipated to generate 2.2 gigawatts of energy, enough to power 1.2 million homes. According to Offshore WIND, construction is anticipated to start around 2025, and the first turbine should start producing electricity by 2028.
One of the suggested offshore wind zones was the Bass Strait, off the coast of Gippsland. The Pacific Ocean region of the Hunter in New South Wales, the Pacific Ocean region of the Illawarra in New South Wales, the Southern Ocean region off Portland in Victoria, the Bass Strait region off Northern Tasmania, and the Indian Ocean region off Perth/Bunbury in Western Australia are among the five additional zones being taken into consideration.
We want to create a foundation of community cooperation and support around Australia’s exciting new chapter of opening the offshore wind industry. We have some of the best wind resources in the world, said Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen in an August statement regarding the proposed offshore wind zones.
Just one rotation of one offshore wind turbine produces as much energy as the average rooftop solar installation generates in one day. Offshore wind energy has been successfully harnessed for many years in other nations, and the time has come for Australia to embark on the path to securely establishing this dependable and major kind of renewable energy.
