THE Australian Government has granted 12 feasibility licences for offshore wind projects off Gippsland’s coast in Victoria in three parts of Declared Area OEI-01-2022 (Gippsland).
One of them is Southerly Ten, formerly known as Star of the South wind farm, which has won two feasibility licences, one of them (the original Star of the South project) to be located in Declared Area OEI-01-2022 part 1 between Port Albert and Woodside Beach.
Their proposed second wind farm would called ‘Kut-Wut Brataualung’ to be located in Declared Area OEI-01-2022 part 3, south of Waratah Bay and Wilsons Promontory.
Also to be located in the ‘part 3’ declared area south of Waratah Bay and Wilsons Promontory is the proposed 2.5 GW Gippsland Skies Wind Farm.
Previously it had been anticipated that the Gippsland wind farms would all link their marine cables together and come ashore at the proposed VicGrid site, at Giffard, north-east of Woodside.
However, with the issuing of further feasibility licences, a marine cable and overhead transmission line route has been proposed to come ashore between Waratah Bay and Cape Liptrap.
Three Gippsland Skies community information sessions will explore these options this weekend.
The Gippsland Skies sessions are as follows:
- Foster Saturday 15 February 9am - 12 midday Foster War Memorial Arts Centre
- Sandy Point Saturday 15 February 1pm- 3pm Sandy Point Community Centre
- Fish Creek Thursday 20 February 4pm - 6pm Fish Creek Memorial Hall
All of the Gippsland feasibility licence holders will then deliver a second round of joint community engagement events to be held in Port Albert, Golden Beach, Sale and Leongatha during March.
The regional events will provide an opportunity for locals to meet and engage with the offshore wind developers behind Gippsland’s proposed projects:
- Port Albert - Wednesday 12 March 2025, 4:00pm – 6:00pm, Port Albert Mechanics Institute
- Golden Beach - Thursday 13 March 2025, 4:00pm – 6:00pm, Golden Beach Community Centre
- Sale - Saturday 22 March 2025, 10:00am – 2:00pm, Nakunbalook, Sale Botanic Gardens
- Leongatha - Thursday 27 March 2025, 4:00pm – 6:00pm, Leongatha Memorial Hall.
The organisers are encouraging local communities to attend to learn more about offshore wind, upcoming project plans, socio-economic benefits and share feedback.
The South Gippsland Shire Council has reissued its policy on the development of offshore wind renewable energy projects, as follows:
The following statement is from Cr John Schelling, Mayor of South Gippsland Shire Council.
“In response to upcoming offshore wind-related community engagement sessions in South Gippsland, I would like to re-state, in a summarised form, Council’s position in relation to offshore wind. This was endorsed by resolution to Council in 2022.
“Council recognises that offshore projects proposed off Gippsland’s coast could help meet emission targets and these projects could also offer the local community opportunities and benefits. Benefits could include increased economic activity, investment in our local community and job creation. With this in mind – and considering the federal government’s designation of Gippsland as Victoria’s first Renewable Energy Zone – Council has provided in principle support to offshore wind.
“There are caveats to this support, however, which include the following:
* “More information is required on the direct and indirect impacts and opportunities that proposed projects located near the South Gippsland coast may have on the South Gippsland community and the position of the community is not yet fully understood.
* “There needs to be a greater understanding of direct community benefits and potential offsets for our community.
* “The coastal and marine environment must be protected and that any proposed developments do not have an adverse impact.
* “Projects must use existing infrastructure and transmission routes, including placing transmission lines underground, to minimise the impacts to existing land use such as farming and tourism.
* “South Gippsland has the greatest number of agricultural businesses of any Victorian municipality and it is vital that our agricultural land is protected.
“More offshore wind engagement sessions will be occurring soon, and I would strongly encourage you to go along, to learn more, and to make your voice heard.
To view Council’s full submission into the Federal Government's Offshore Renewable Energy Infrastructure Area Proposal, please visit: www.southgippsland.vic.gov.au/renewableenergy
The Australian Government has granted 12 feasibility licences for offshore wind projects off Gippsland’s coast in Victoria. These licence holders are:
- High Sea Wind Pty Ltd
- Gippsland Skies Pty Ltd
- Blue Mackerel North Pty Ltd
- Kut-Wut Brataualung Pty Ltd
- Ørsted Offshore Australia 1 Pty Ltd (Gippsland 01)
- Star of the South Wind Farm Pty Ltd (SOTS)
- Iberdrola Australia OW 2 Pty Ltd (Aurora Green)
- Gippsland Dawn OWP Project Pty Ltd (Gippsland Dawn)
- Navigator North Project Pty Ltd
- Ørsted Offshore Australia 1 Pty Ltd (Gippsland 02)
- Kent Offshore Wind Pty Ltd
- Great Eastern Offshore Wind Farm Project Co Pty Ltd.
The feasibility licence application process was highly competitive with 37 applications received.
