Key Highlights:
- BlueFloat Energy has announced that they would collaborate on three offshore wind projects in Australia with a total projected capacity of 4.3GW.
- The project will help the Hunter area move away from coal-fired power. Its creators want to use the energy it generates to serve current huge energy consumers.
- Australia is now considered a thriving market capable of luring developers, after years in the offshore wind doldrums.
BlueFloat collaborates on three offshore wind projects
BlueFloat Energy, an offshore wind developer, and Energy Estate, an Australian developer, have announced that they would collaborate on three offshore wind projects in Australia with a total projected capacity of 4.3GW.
The two corporations are looking at a few other locations in Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania. In early 2022, they aim to announce further projects.
The 1400MW Hunter Coast floating offshore wind project will be built off the coast of New South Wales, south of Newcastle, in an area designated for offshore wind development in the Australian Energy Market Operator’s draught 2022 Integrated System Plan.
The project will help the Hunter area move away from coal-fired power. Its creators want to use the energy it generates to serve current huge energy consumers, such as Tomago’s aluminum smelter, as well as to generate green hydrogen. The 1600MW Wollongong project, which BlueFloat and Energy Estate seek to construct across two locations off the coast of Wollongong in the Illawarra area of New South Wales, will also utilize floating platforms. The developers want to use the project’s output to assist regional industry while also facilitating the establishment of new sectors, such as green hydrogen for export and local markets like mobility.
Australia, a thriving market in the offshore wind doldrums
PPM, located in Wollongong, is collaborating with Energy Estate to revitalize current resources industry infrastructure by combining offshore wind with new industrial regions, green hydrogen generation, and long-duration energy storage.
Meanwhile, in the 1300MW Greater Gippsland project in the Bass Strait, off the coast of Victoria’s Gippsland area, BlueFloat and Energy Estate want to employ fixed-bottom foundations. It is designed to complement the current and planned transmission infrastructure in Gippsland, and builds on the momentum for early retirement of brown coal operations in the Latrobe Valley.
“Globally, offshore wind energy is exploding, and now it’s Australia’s turn,” said Carlos Martin, CEO of BlueFloat Energy. “The idea of importing the two forms of offshore wind technology (floating and fixed) into Australia excites us because it will allow us to tap into some of the world’s top offshore wind resources.”
“The combination of world-class wind resources, the move away from fossil fuels, and favorable marine circumstances create a perfect platform for large-scale energy infrastructure projects near load sources,” he added.
“The timing of our announcement follows quickly on the heels of Australia’s federal government approving legislation that provides a framework for launching offshore wind projects,” said Nick Sankey, country manager for BlueFloat Energy. The Offshore Electrical Infrastructure Bill 2021 sets a regulatory framework for the building, installation, commissioning, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of offshore electricity infrastructure, which is a critical step.”
Australia is now considered a thriving market capable of luring developers, after years in the offshore wind doldrums.
Offshore wind projects are being developed by BlueFloat Energy in a variety of locations. It is working on the 300MW Mar de gata floating offshore wind farm off the coast of southern Spain with aerospace engineering firm Sener, and the 675MW Minerva Energia project off the coast of Calabria in Italy with Falck Renewables.
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