Taxpayer boost for offshore wind projects
THREE offshore wind projects in Gippsland have received almost $40m in funding from the state government to drive renewable energy opportunities. As part of the Energy Innovation Fund, the government is kickstarting the major offshore wind projects...
THREE offshore wind projects in Gippsland have received almost $40m in funding from the state government to drive renewable energy opportunities.
As part of the Energy Innovation Fund, the government is kickstarting the major offshore wind projects – from Star of the South, Macquarie Group and Flotation Energy.
The funding boost announced will support feasibility studies and pre-construction development, including environmental assessments, and adds to $96 million the companies are already investing in these projects.
The Star of the South will receive $19.5 million to support pre-construction development activities for an offshore wind farm off the Gippsland coast.
If built to its full, proposed scale, it would have up to 2.2GW of capacity – enough power to provide nearly 20 per cent of Victoria’s energy needs.
Macquarie Group will receive $16.1 million to facilitate initial development stages of a 1GW offshore wind farm off the Bass Coast.
Flotation Energy will receive $2.3 million for scoping studies and surveys for a 1.5GW offshore wind farm off the coast of Gippsland.
The funding will help each company conduct studies to determine the exact location of each project.
All major projects will require a rigorous community consultation process and will be subject to a range of regulatory approvals including environmental impact assessments, the state government said.
