VICTORIA’s ambitious plans for offshore wind farms in the Gippsland Basin have suffered another blow, as a third consortium late last week handed back its licence.
The state government had touted up to 2 gigawatts of energy from offshore projects by 2032, increasing to 4GW in 2035 and 9GW by 2040 but in September postponed proposed auctions as industry interest faded in the face of high costs and global financing drying up in the wake of Trump rejection of renewables.
The federal government had issued 11 feasibility licences to prospective developers, but on Friday [5 December] the AGL-led Gippsland Skies consortium joined other joint ventures headed by Germany’s RWE (Kent wind farm) and the Philippines’ BlueFloat Energy (Gippsland Dawn wind farm) that relinquished theirs in October and July respectively.
Victoria’s Auditor-General last week noted that despite the state’s goal of having 2GW of offshore wind by 2032, a fundamental part of the state’s efforts to replace coal-fired power, there was still no port approved to support the assembly of wind turbines.
“Under an optimistic scenario Victoria could build two gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by the end of 2033. But there is a risk of further delays,” it said.
Despite ongoing warnings about looming power shortages it seems industrial customers are loathe to commit to alternative energy sources, with The Australian last week reporting Viva Energy has put its plans for a port of Geelong-based Floating Storage and Regasification Unit-based LNG import terminal on hold.
“Viva Energy has adjusted its [final investment decision] timetable to meet customer and market needs. We are currently in discussion with a number of major gas users and remain confident that our project offers the best solution to the looming east coast gas shortfall and for firming renewable generation,” a spokesman told the publication.