Taranaki Offshore Partnership, a joint venture between Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) and NZ Super Fund, together with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) and Ara Ake, has released the findings of the Industry Capability Mapping Study, focused on offshore wind in the Taranaki region.
According to the study, which was launched last year, offshore wind has the potential to create many new jobs in the region, as well as to develop its supply chain.
The study gathered data from various entities such as local communities, infrastructure specialists, industry leaders, iwi, and local government through workshops, surveys, interviews, and analysis of international case studies.
The report identifies the types of jobs which would be created through the planning, construction and operational phases of an offshore wind farm and highlights what skills and capabilities already exist in Taranaki and where more can be done.
Giacomo Caleffi from Taranaki Offshore Partnership says that offshore wind provides New Zealand with an opportunity to transition from oil and gas while creating new opportunities for the skilled workers previously working in that industry.
“[It’s key] that we support and develop the New Zealand workforce and supply chain now to enable the development of an offshore wind farm once the feasibility stages of the project are complete,” said Giacomo Caleffi .
NZTE Investment Manager Hayden Mackenzie says that leveraging the international experience of offshore wind developers such as Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners has enabled NZTE to accelerate their understanding of what the industry could look like in New Zealand.
CIP and NZ Super Fund are jointly developing the 1 GW South Taranaki offshore wind project, planned to be built some 37 kilometres off the coast of Patea in the South Taranaki Bight. Earlier this year, Taranaki Offshore Partnership informed that the partners were set to deploy a floating FLiDAR at the project site.
At the beginning of this year, the joint venture also signed an agreement with Port Taranaki and BlueFloat Energy for a joint study into how the port’s assets, infrastructure and land can support the growth of the offshore wind industry in Aotearoa.