Australia’s first ever offshore wind auction is now underway, after the Victorian government announced on Tuesday night that it would start the bidding process for the first 2GW of the zone's expected 25GW of energy.
2GW is enough to power roughly 1.5 million average Australian homes.
Who’s who: Companies seeking to compete to build nine wind farms in the Bass Strait can now bid for contracts with the government to generate electricity.
Then what: The state government assesses these bids on how competitive their price of electricity is, whether a project is deliverable and if there will be benefits for local workers, businesses and communities.
What they said: The Chief Development Officer for Star of the South (one of Gippsland’s most advanced offshore projects), Erin Coldham, told the Monitor certainty is imperative.
“One of the things offshore wind projects need to move forward is the certainty that the revenue will be there to pay back the cost of building the projects,” she said.
The developers that win the auction will receive a financial support package from the Commonwealth designed to give investors enough certainty to commit to funding construction.
Not so fast: Winning the auction doesn't mean a developer automatically gets permission to build turbines, as they will still need federal and Victorian approvals.
The auction will run for a year - closing in August 2027, with contracts expected to be awarded in 2028 before the slated construction of the first offshore wind farm in 2030.