The developers behind the Novocastrian floating wind farm have decided not to accept the feasibility licence offered by the Australian government for their up to 2 GW project in the Hunter offshore wind zone.
The floating offshore wind farm was being developed by Norway’s energy company Equinor and Oceanex.
The plans for the project were announced by Oceanex in 2020, with the federal government granting the feasibility licence in February 2025.
The wind farm included the use of floating foundations in a 500-square-kilometre licence area, and was expected to create more than 3,000 jobs during construction.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen said in an interview that Equinor and Oceanex could not agree to move forward with the project. He said that the Norwegian energy giant is withdrawing from projects in Vietnam, Portugal, and Spain.
Bowen added that Oceanex was interested in moving forward with the Novocastrian floating wind farm, “but they are too small to undertake such a big project alone “.
“They don’t have the access to the capital. They are experts in their field. They would be the first to say this is too big just for them. They need a partner and frankly, an international partner, given there’s no offshore wind being built in Australia yet, it is quite common around the world, and so they’re not able to proceed without that partner. But their interest and hopes for the Hunter is undiminished,” Bowen said.
In a separate statement, Oceanex said it was disappointed with the decision by Novocastrian not to accept the feasibility licence. However, the company added that it will be exploring all options to make offshore wind a reality in the Hunter.
Andy Evans, CEO and a founder of Oceanex, added that the shareholders of the company fully supported acceptance and remain positive about progressing offshore wind off the Hunter Valley coast.
Meanwhile, Bowen commented that “it’s best now to move to a research and development licence because there is still a lot of interest in the Hunter and people still think it can work.”