Developers abandon applications to build wind farm off coast of WA’s South West 

At least three companies have bowed out of the race to develop an offshore wind farm in Western Australia.

In September last year, federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen green-lit a roughly 4,000-square-kilometre farm for Geographe Bay off the coast of Bunbury in the state’s South West region.

He invited companies to apply for feasibility licences to conduct further research and consultations with a view to leading the project.
A man in hard hat and hi-vis talks and poses next to a map at a port

But the deadline for developers to apply has been pushed back twice to January 30, prompting speculation interest has waned.

In that time, the federal opposition has vowed to scrap the WA project if elected, arguing the community does not want it.

Oceanex Energy has now revealed it will not pursue the west-coast development due to delays with similar projects on the east coast.

The Australian company’s Bunbury office was closed in November last year.

Meanwhile, German developer Skyborn Renewables told the ABC it was withdrawing from Australia altogether after a review of its global operations and long-term business objectives.

Both companies were early proponents of building an offshore wind farm in WA’s South West.

Hong-Kong-owned Australian energy retailer and developer Alinta Energy has also also confirmed it no longer plans to apply for a licence.

The ABC is aware of at least four other offshore wind farm developers that have expressed an interest in the area.

Copenhagen Energy and Ocean Winds have declined to comment on whether they still plan to apply.

Jera and Floatation Energy has not responded to the ABC’s request for comment.

‘Time kills projects’

WA’s offshore wind zone was the second last of six offshore wind zones declared by the federal government in recent years.

The first four were in New South Wales and Victoria.

Oceanex chairman and co-founder Andy Evans said many developers had rushed to establish offices on the east coast and become tied up there amid project delays caused by an unexpected amount of “green tape”.

WA’s south-west coast has been hailed as the perfect location for an offshore wind farm. (ABC South West WA: Bridget McArthur)

He said Oceanex’s resources were mostly bound up in the Hunter Valley offshore wind project where the company was recently awarded a preliminary feasibility licence.

“As a country, we really make it hard for ourselves,” Mr Evans said.

“All I think industry wants is just certainty on timelines to get projects up and going.

“It’s the old saying, ‘time kills projects.’ That is no truer than in the development phase.”

Mr Evans said it was disappointing to have to let go of plans to develop a wind farm off the coast of Bunbury.

A map of the areas proposed for a wind farm off the coast of south-west WA. (Supplied: Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water)

“We still think Geographe Bay is a fantastic opportunity,” he said.

“The disappointing thing for us is we’d like a lot more jobs based in the south-west [of WA] because the skill sets are incredible.”

Calls for ‘streamlined’ regulation

Grattan Institute program director for energy and climate change Tony Wood said while progress on renewable infrastructure had been slow across the board, offshore wind projects had been particularly restricted.

Mr Wood said this was partly due to projects taking place in offshore waters, meaning developers were forced to navigate both state and federal jurisdictions.

“If you end up with complicated overlapping and inconsistent regulation, then you’ve got a real problem,” he said.

“Taking five to seven years for regulatory approval is just crazy.

“Federal and state [governments] need to look at this and say, ‘Can we streamline this?'”
A man in a navy suit stands in a room.

Energy and climate change expert Tony Wood says offshore wind projects have moved particularly slowly. (ABC News: Steve Keen)

Mr Wood said rising costs had also played a role in forcing budgets and timelines to be revised.

The CSIRO’s 2023-24 GenCost report, modelling future electricity costs, found wind power was recovering the slowest from global inflationary pressures.

But Mr Evans said he believed offshore wind had a bright future in Australia, once regulatory issues were ironed out.

“In a way, I think offshore wind has been a victim of its own success,” he said.

“It’s been a mad dash with a number of zones being declared and licences awarded … everyone’s just catching their breath.”

A spokeswoman for the federal energy minister declined to respond to the ABC’s questions.

But she said the Albanese government was committed to realising an offshore wind industry in Australia and working closely with proponents.