Offshore wind is coming to Australia, and the race to secure sites will begin soon in the states of Victoria and New South Wales.
Winds of change are blowing Down Under after a long period of slow progress on climate action. The country aims to phase out coal by 2043 and reach net-zero by 2050 – targets that will require Australia to develop huge amounts of new renewable energy sources, fast.
Offshore wind to replace coal in populous states
Offshore wind is a particularly attractive source of electricity in the country’s most populous states, Victoria and New South Wales; home to cities like Sydney and Melbourne and more than 15 million people.
Victoria leads the charge, having set a series of increasing offshore wind deployment targets: 2 GW in 2032, 4 GW in 2035 and 9 GW in 2040.
Victoria’s gigawatt plans are envisioned to play a major role in fulfilling the state’s own goal of quitting coal by 2035. As coal currently accounts for more than 60% of Victoria’s electricity mix, the need for alternative sources is strong.
Official offshore wind areas being defined
And there may soon be a clear path to development for offshore wind projects: Official offshore wind areas are on the cusp of being defined by the federal government. The first area will be in Victoria and is expected to get the final stamp of approval before end of the year.
Several more areas are on the drawing board in both Victoria and neighboring New South Wales. The proposed areas are expected to require both fixed-bottom and floating wind, though overall Australia will be mostly a floating wind market.
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