Spain-based BlueFloat Energy and Energy Estate are joining forces to develop offshore wind farms in Australia, the first three of which will have a combined capacity of 4.3GW.
The projects include the 1.4GW Hunter Coast, the 1.6GW Wollongong, and the 1.3GW Greater Gippsland offshore wind farms.
According to BlueFloat Energy, the Hunter Coast offshore wind project will use floating wind technology. It will be installed off the coast, south of Newcastle in New South Wales’ Hunter Coast region.
The Wollongong offshore wind project will also use floating wind technology. It will be built across two locations off the coast from Wollongong in Illawarra in New South Wales.
BlueFloat Energy plans to build the Greater Gippsland offshore wind project off the coast of the Gippsland region of Victoria. The project will use bottom-fixed technology.
BlueFloat Energy CEO Carlos Martin said: “We are excited by the prospect of introducing the two types of offshore wind technology (floating and fixed) into Australia, as this will enable us to harness some of the best offshore wind resources globally.
“The combination of world-class wind resources, the transition from fossil fuels, and suitable maritime conditions is an ideal platform for large-scale energy infrastructure projects being built close to load sources.”
Alongside Energy Estate, the Spanish offshore wind developer is also evaluating various other sites in Victoria, Tasmania, and South Australia with plans to announce more projects in early 2022.
BlueFloat Energy country manager Nick Sankey said: “The timing of our announcement comes hot on the heels of Australia’s Federal Government passing legislation that provides a framework for developing offshore wind projects here.
“This is a pivotal step as the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Bill 2021 establishes a regulatory scaffold to enable the construction, installation, commissioning, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning of offshore electricity infrastructure.”
Last month, BlueFloat Energy announced a partnership with Energy Estate and Elemental Group to build offshore wind farms in New Zealand.
