Australia to open consultations for 2 more offshore wind projects

The country aims to develop six offshore wind zones.

The Australian Government announced that it will launch the next two rounds of consultation for offshore wind zones in The Bass Straight Region and Perth/Bunbury.

Chris Bowen MP, Australia’s Minister for Climate Change and Energy said the consultation for The Bass Straight region offshore wind zone will start in October whilst talks for the Perth/Bunbury zones will begin in November.

“This puts us firmly on track to have all six areas declared by the first half of next year,” Bowen said at the Global Wind Energy Council Asia Pacific Summit.

Bowen said that the first two zones, Gippsland and Hunter, had already been declared, whilst the consultations for Illawarra and the Southern Ocean region have already started.

The Minister added that the Energy Infrastructure Commissioner will publish later this year the first guide for communities and developers on how they could engage in Australia best.

“This will provide more guidance to developers and clearly lay out the process to communities for consultation,” he said.