The next phase in the development of the renewable industry may just be about to occur. The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) have been studying locations for new renewable developments. The majority of the market has been focusing on Renewable Energy Zones (REZ) on land but the solution maybe further off ashore. AEMO have located four offshore wind zones off the coast of NSW, Victoria, and Tasmania. The potential opportunities could add up to 40GW into the grid. To keep transmission costs down, AEMO have found locations close to land where significant ports are established that will allow the renewable output for the wind farms to be used at renewable hydrogen export hubs.
This year, AEMO updated its inputs into the Integrated System Plan and one of the significant changes from previous years is the volume of offshore wind availability. The 40GW identified is likely to be constructed over the next 20 years. At this stage the only offshore wind farm is the Star of the South wind farm located off the coast of Victoria and is likely to be 2,200MW. The Start of the South project is likely to connect into the grid via the Latrobe Valley and will feed in electricity as the coal fired generation in that region retires.
As the Hydrogen market also grows, offshore wind developers will focus on sites adjacent to the proposed hydrogen export facilities around Newcastle.
Offshore wind developers are concerned the legislation hurdles may stall the industry, so they are looking for support from governments to allow the industry to grow.
Oceanex Energy is looking to develop and construct up to 4 offshore windfarms off the coast of NSW with output likely to be over 7,000MW.
Oceanex Energy CEO Andy Evans says the clarity over the legislation is important given that project developers would likely need to spend up to $200 million to get a project to financial close.
He said it was an industry that would be likely dominated by major energy players – such as RWE, Iberdrola, Macquarie, and Equinox, along with big oil companies such as Shell and BP that are also expanding into offshore wind.