Preliminary Licences Granted for 3 Offshore Wind Projects in Western Australia

The Australian government has issued preliminary feasibility licences for three offshore wind project in the Bunbury zone off the coast of Western Australia.

Declared in September 2024, the Bunbury offshore wind zone covers an area of 3,995 square kilometres and has the potential to generate up to 11.4 GW of renewable energy.

Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen, in June, approved a feasibility licence for the Bunbury offshore wind farm in the zone’s north and a preliminary licence for a related project planned in the southern section. However, the Bunbury south project had overlapped with the proposed Westward Wind project, which was also offered a preliminary licence, requiring the two companies to negotiate a resolution.

On 27 August, Bowen announced that Westward Wind and Bunbury Offshore Wind South had resolved the overlap between their projects, while the third project in the northern part of the zone is currently under consultation for a preliminary feasibility licence.

The three proposed offshore wind projects off the coast of Bunbury could generate a total of 4 GW, enough to power around 2.7 million homes. Should these projects go ahead, they could employ over 2,500 workers during construction and another 1,000 ongoing jobs.

The Bunbury offshore wind farm is being developed by Oceanex Energy, the same company behind the Novocastrian floating wind project off the New South Wales coast, which was abandoned last week after its partner, Equinor, withdrew.

“In Bunbury, offshore wind has huge potential for jobs, new industry, and clean, reliable renewable energy in the regions which have powered Australia for generations. Western Australia needs some 50 GW of additional generation by 2042, and we’re getting to work making sure that we deliver the new clean energy, and the good jobs, the West needs,” said Bowen.

Wind With Purpose is still responding to an initial decision not to grant the company a licence for the Catalpa offshore wind farm, the federal energy minister added.

Australia’s offshore wind industry is progressing, with feasibility licences granted for projects targeting a total of 24.21 GW of renewable energy and preliminary offers for another 4 GW. The three west coast projects add to the twelve feasibility projects currently under development on the east coast.

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