SSE Renewables and Equis Development, a Singapore-based renewable energy developer, have established a 50/50 consortium for offshore wind development in Australia, where they now plan to submit a bid for a feasibility license for an offshore wind farm project in Gippsland.
In a press release issued on 3 April, the new offshore wind partners said that they had identified the target areas and were working together on the required due diligence work ahead of a bid submission in April 2023.
The bid for a feasibility license will expedite the development, construction, operations and ownership of the planned offshore wind farm project, according to the consortium, which did not share further information about the offshore wind farm they are proposing to build offshore the state of Victoria.
If their project moves forward to realisation, SSE Renewables will be responsible for the engineering, procurement, construction, operations, and maintenance of the offshore wind farm, while Equis will be in charge of the project development, including the grid connection, development approval and environmental requirements, community and stakeholder engagement, offtake and government licensing and financing requirements.
“SSE is carefully targeting opportunities to expand its pipeline internationally. Australia and the State of Victoria are at a very early stage of developing their offshore wind potential and SSE sees the Gippsland tender as a good opportunity to bring its capabilities to help deliver it. We are delighted to partner with Equis on this application, combining our track record in offshore wind and their local presence and renewables development experience” , said Vincent Clausse , Head of International Business Development at SSE Renewables.
David Russell , Managing Director at Equis, said: “Equis has been a leading renewable energy developer in Australia and the Asia Pacific for the last decade, including offshore wind generation. SSE is the first-choice partner of offshore wind developers and owners globally and complements Equis’ development expertise, all of which will be fundamental for completing projects in Australia in the highly constrained and competitive offshore wind global market”.
The upcoming bid from the newly established consortium will be submitted in response to the invitation for feasibility licence applications for the Gippsland area, the country’s first offshore wind area, announced in January by Australia’s Ministry for Climate Change and Energy.
The applications are being accepted until 27 April.
Once the application period has closed, the Registrar will assess all applications against criteria set out in the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Regulations 2022, and make recommendations to the Minister for Climate Change and Energy.
The Minister for Climate Change and Energy declared the Bass Strait off Gippsland as suitable for offshore renewable energy infrastructure in December 2022. The area, which covers about 15,000 square kilometres, is estimated to support more than 10 GW of offshore wind capacity.
There are several proposed offshore wind projects in the Bass Strait, besides the one now announced by SSE and Equis, including the 1.5 GW Seadragon being developed by Flotation Energy, the 1.3 GW Greater Gippsland project developed by BlueFloat Energy and Energy Estate, the 2.5 GW Great Eastern project developed by Corio Generation, and the 2 GW Star of the South , Australia’s first and most progressed offshore wind project.
The state of Victoria, home to the country’s first offshore wind development area, is targeting at least 2 GW of offshore generation capacity by 2032, 4 GW by 2035 and 9 GW by 2040.