Australia’s first offshore wind project, Star of the South, is entering the next phase of its detailed environmental assessments with 25 technical reports to be prepared over the next two years.
The reports will cover topics including environment, visual, social, business, transport, agriculture and fisheries.
Gippsland locals and visitors are invited to share their input, including on favourite sightseeing locations and special places, as part of the planning process for the project in waters off the state of Victoria.
The developer of the up to 2.2GW Star of the South project is seeking local knowledge and feedback to help shape its technical reports.
Information and photos about favourite sightseeing spots will be used for the project’s visual assessment, which will consider different viewpoints looking out towards the wind farm at sea.
Feedback will be used to inform the 25 technical reports so that community views, concerns or ideas are considered in these important assessments.
An online webinar and consultation sessions are being held in Yarram, Port Welshpool, Longford, Woodside, Leongatha and Morwell from 2 to 16 September 2021.
Star of the South involves harnessing Bass Strait’s strong offshore winds with turbines in the sea, connecting into the Latrobe Valley via underground cables and powering homes.
If built to its full 2.2GW capacity, Star of the South would create up to 750 construction jobs and 200 ongoing jobs in Gippsland.
Star of the South chief development officer Erin Coldham said: “We’re keen to hear from locals and visitors about their favourite sightseeing and special locations in Gippsland to inform an assessment of what the offshore wind farm could look like from different viewpoints on land.
“We encourage people to join our webinar and attend the upcoming community consultation sessions in September to hear what’s happening with Star of the South and share their feedback to help shape the project’s environmental assessments and development.
“It’s exciting to see momentum growing for offshore wind in Australia and we’re proud to be progressing Star of the South in Gippsland – the home of Victoria’s power generation.”