Watershed year for offshore wind power

The year ahead is shaping as pivotal for the offshore wind industry as the federal government assesses six potential areas for development around the country.

For Western Australia, in particular, it will be a crucial period.

A state renowned for energising the nation and creating prosperity through its resources and offshore oil and gas industries, WA is increasingly turning its entrepreneurial spirit and attention toward new opportunities for growth and investment, such as we’re seeing with the development of a large-scale hydrogen industry and the mining of lithium.

However, there is another opportunity available to the state in the form of offshore wind, with the potential for state-wide job creation and investment, especially in regional areas such as the South West.

The concept of offshore wind is not new to Australia, with legislation to support it put in place by the then-Coalition federal government in 2021, with the South West one of the key areas identified by industry and government as suitable for its development.

The World Bank released a report in 2021 highlighting the requirements for the successful delivery of wind power, beyond strategy and policy, which point directly to WA’s suitability for the new industry.

These are identified as industry oversight, supply chain, ports, transmission network and financing.

Put simply, for offshore wind to be successfully established, areas need to have: an efficient supply chain to support the supply of project components; sufficient port infrastructure; a transmission network capable of receiving and distributing the electricity generated; and appropriate financial investment.

Not only does WA fit those criteria, but as one of the pioneers of the offshore wind industry in Australia, I would go one step further and say that the South West has the following required elements, and then some, well beyond other identified offshore wind areas on the east coast.

• A strong and consistent wind resource.
• Deepwater ports capable of handling large-scale work and infrastructure, with available surrounding land to use for manufacturing, handling and storing offshore wind components.
• Existing and available grid infrastructure, bolstered by proposed development of the South West Inter Connected System.
• Experienced and skilled workforce familiar with the requirements of nationally significant infrastructure projects including the construction, operation and maintenance of large-scale marine-based projects over a number of years, especially emanating from the offshore oil and gas industry.
• Existing infrastructure and know-how needed to support the offshore oil and gas industry
• State and federal governments largely supportive of large-scale energy opportunities, whether renewable energy or otherwise.

Offshore wind has successfully been established in other parts of the world, including off the coasts of the UK, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Taiwan, Japan, US, Belgium, Germany, and Scotland. I would argue that none of those countries had all of the above requirements in place when kickstarting their industries.

In fact, the UK provides the closest comparison, where the coastline, strong offshore winds and existing skills and infrastructure from the offshore oil and gas industry have allowed the wind sector to grow significantly in the past decade.

WA is already ahead of the game in terms of its available natural resources and skilled workforce. And with a long, proud history of developing and executing largescale projects, it makes sense for the state to now embrace the opportunity that offshore wind presents.

It’s no coincidence that some of the greatest entrepreneurial minds in the country have emerged from the west: it’s a state that doesn’t shy away from a challenge and embraces the opportunity to develop nationally significant industries when the time is right.

With an announcement imminent regarding the public consultation process to hopefully open up the South West for feasibility studies, the state can finally assess an opportunity that seems tailor made for it.

Let’s make 2024 a year where we seize the opportunity to again show the rest of the nation how it’s done.

• Andy Evans is co-founder and CEO of Oceanex Energy, a co-founder of the Star of the South Offshore Wind Farm