Australia’s government has unveiled 6 proposed offshore regions that have world-class offshore wind energy potential.

Public consultation on the proposed Bass Strait offshore Gippsland area will begin immediately, as recently installed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government works with communities, environmental groups, industry and the maritime sector to ensure communities are appropriately engaged in establishing this new industry.

The other regions that have been earmarked are the Pacific Ocean regions offshore the Hunter and the Illawarra in New South Wales, the Southern Ocean region offshore Portland in Victoria, the Bass Strait region offshore Northern Tasmania, and the Indian Ocean region offshore Perth/Bunbury in Western Australia.

Unveiling the acreage on Friday, the government said that details regarding these 5 other regions and the public consultation processes would be announced in due course.

Good to excellent offshore wind locations exist at strategic locations, noted the Australian government. These include sites with existing energy generation facilities and industrial hubs with strong connections to existing transmission networks, near major export ports and near industrial hubs where the transmission grid is the strongest.

Estimates for the job opportunities of an offshore wind industry in Australia range from 3000 to 8000 jobs annually.

The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment & Water will facilitate the consultation process in the proposed regions.

The Vidi Energy View – it’s great to see this new market opening up in Australia. Many of the areas around Australia are well suited to floating wind, which lends itself to mass-production much better than traditional fixed foundation offshore wind wind.

This is the vision of Vidi Energy – mass-assembled ready-to-float floating offshore wind turbines, ready to tow-and-tether.

Original article by upstreamonline.com