wiredinUSA May 2019

Desert wind

Seeking an Australian first

Image: Wood Mackenzie’s Sohaib Malik

The Australian government has granted an exploration license for what could be the country’s first offshore wind farm. The co-developers, Australian Offshore Energy and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, can now assess the wind resources and seabed conditions at the potential site, 8km offshore. The Australian environment department said the developers will be able to determine whether the planned Star of the South project, first proposed in 2012, is technically feasible. The developers are looking to generate up to 2GW per year. The Maritime Union of Australia has previously accused the government of being slow in granting the license, due to an “ideological hatred of renewable energy”. However, in announcing the grant of the exploration licence, the environment department said the government had considered the proposal carefully, “As this offshore wind farm exploration is an Australian-first.” Star of the South would consist of 250 turbines installed in a 574km 2 area off the Gippsland, Victoria coast. The site of what could be Australia’s first offshore wind farm at Gippsland, Victoria Photograph courtesy of visitmelbourne.com

Saudi Arabia has set itself the target of becoming the Middle East’s leading market for wind power within the next ten years. As part of the plan, Saudi Arabia will establish 6.2GW of wind capacity by 2028 - 46 percent of the region’s total wind capacity. Power and renewables analyst Sohaib Malik of Wood Mackenzie suggests that “the integration of renewables in Vision 2030’s objectives underlines strong political commitmentwithinSaudiArabia.”However, a recent report suggests the Kingdom will “fall short” of its 2030 vision for renewable energy, regardless of growth forecasts.

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wiredInUSA - May 2019