The Australian Government is seeking feedback on the benefits and effects of future offshore wind development in a proposed area in the Indian Ocean off the Bunbury region in Western Australia.
The area is at least 20km from the coast, has quality wind resources and some relatively shallow waters.
The Commonwealth is seeking feedback on a proposed area, which is 7674 square kilometres and at least 20km from shore at its closest point off Cape Naturaliste and Bunbury and 36km from Busselton.
The proposed Bunbury zone is an ideal location for offshore electricity generation because of the high speed winds in the Indian Ocean, its proximity to large energy users and could enable up to 20GW of offshore wind to be developed.
Western Australia is the sixth region to be considered as potentially suitable for future large-scale offshore wind projects in Australia.
The first two suitable areas have been declared off Victoria’s Gippsland coast and the NSW Hunter region.
The proposals in the Southern Ocean Region off Victoria and South Australia, and the NSW Illawarra region have each completed their initial community consultation phase.
Future offshore wind project proposals must share the marine area with other users and interests. Feedback will help inform the Minister for Climate Change and Energy’s decision on whether the proposed area is suitable for offshore wind development.
The consultation period closes on Friday 3 May 2024.
Danish renewable energy firm Copenhagen Energy said the consultation “marked an important milestone in the development of offshore wind power in WA”.
Copenhagen Energy Development Manager, Australia, Joy Francis-Hayes said the company’s proposed Leeuwin Offshore Wind Farm project is ideally placed to operate within the zone outlined by the Federal Government and is close to existing transmission infrastructure.
“For the first time we have an indication of the area proposed for WA’s first offshore wind zone,” Francis-Hayes said.
“We have been working in WA for three years, conducting initial scoping studies, assessing WA’s wind resources and talking to a range of stakeholders from government and industry to communities to understand their concerns and how we can respond during our project development.
“There is still considerable work to be done to obtain all planning and licence approvals.
“This consultation period is just the beginning.”