JERA Nex BP’s Australian Offshore Wind Farm Awarded Major Project Status

The Blue Mackerel offshore wind project, being developed by JERA Nex bp (a 50:50 joint venture between JERA Co. and BP), has been awarded Major Project Status (MPS) by the Australian federal government.

With the MPS recognition, the proposed 1 GW project secures dedicated support from the Federal Major Projects Facilitation Agency (MPFA), which will help Blue Mackerel navigate the robust environmental and regulatory approvals process, the developer says.

Located approximately 10 kilometres off the Gippsland coast on Brataualung and Tatungalung Country, between Seaspray and Woodside, Blue Mackerel’s construction is still subject to necessary approvals and the award of a commercial licence.

At full capacity, the 1 GW offshore wind farm would supply enough electricity to power up to 750,000 Victorian homes a year by 2032, according to JERA Nex BP.

The federal government awarded the Blue Mackerel project a seven-year feasibility licence for a 163-square-kilometre area in April 2024.

At the beginning of this year, Australia’s Offshore Infrastructure Regulator (OIR) approved the feasibility stage management plan for Blue Mackerel, making it the first offshore wind project in Australia to secure such approval under the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021 and the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Amendment Regulations 2024.

Blue Mackerel’s award of the Major Project Status (MPS) comes as the Australian offshore wind market has seen more than one project being abandoned since this summer, the latest being the proposed 2.5 GW Gippsland Skies, developed by a consortium of AGL Energy, Mainstream Renewable Power, Reventus Power and DIRECT Infrastructure.

In July, BlueFloat Energy shelved its Gippsland Dawn floating offshore wind proposal, saying the project was no longer commercially viable. Some three months later, in October, RWE said that it had ceased development of its 2 GW Kent project, citing cost pressures and regulatory and auction uncertainty.

One more project has been paused, the 1.5 GW Navigator offshore wind farm, owned by a joint venture between Origin Energy and Renewable Energy Systems (RES).

In September this year, the Victorian government postponed its first offshore wind auction, which was originally set to launch that month, saying the decision to delay the auction was due to several reasons, including setbacks in the approval of feasibility licences, the rejection of the initial referral for the Port of Hastings, and global uncertainty.

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