The Australian Government approved a deed of licence, allowing Offshore Energy Pty Ltd (OEPL) to undertake resource exploration for the Star of the South, the country’s first offshore wind farm.
Mainly, the licence will enable the developer to explore in Commonwealth waters about eight to 13 kilometres off the Gippsland coast in Victoria, on an area covering 574km2.
This licence allows OEPL to conduct activities to assess wind resources and seabed conditions, in order to understand if an offshore farm is technically feasible.
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However, the Government highlighted that OEPL hasn’t been given the rights to develop or operate an offshore wind farm under this licence. In addition, to begin offshore operations, the company has to undertake extensive consultation with the community and industry before undertaking any activities.
In other words, the government’s engagement with the proposal is only linked to exploration licence, and does not provide financial support towards the project development.
OEPL has already issued for a permit to conduct a feasibility study for the wind farm in October 2017.
In December 2017, the Victoria-based OEPL entered into a partnership with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) to jointly continue developing the wind farm.
When completed, the Star of the South could comprise up to 250 wind turbines with a combined capacity of up to 2GW.
