The Federal Government has officially declared an offshore wind zone off western Victoria, paving the way for energy security.
This is now the third officially declared offshore wind zone in the country and will support future onshore manufacturing in VIC through cleaner and cheaper energy.
The zone could generate up to 2.9GW of offshore wind energy, enough to power over 2 million homes.
After extensive consultation, the final area is 1,030km2 – one fifth of the originally proposed zone. It is located 15-20km from VIC’s coast and no longer includes an area off South Australia.
“The Southern Ocean offshore wind zone has the potential to create thousands of new, high-value jobs and help secure cleaner, cheaper more reliable energy for regional Victoria,” Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said.
“Australia has abundant renewable energy, the cheapest form of energy, and the government is committed to helping Australians benefit from these natural resources, including offshore wind.”
VIC Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D’Ambrosio said the wind farms would power the state with affordable energy.
“Victoria is leading the way in offshore wind, with the first wind zones in the country declared off the coast of Gippsland and the southwest coast,” Minister D’Ambrosio said.
“This is another step closer to delivering our target of at least 2 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2032 and will also help us get to net zero by 2045.”
Feasibility licence applications will open from 6 March until 2 July 2024.
The final declared zone can be found here.
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