Massive offshore wind zone for Illawarra coast gets green light

The federal government has given the tick to a huge offshore wind energy zone off the Illawarra coast, but has downscaled the size of the project and pushed it further offshore to combat a fierce community campaign against the proposal.

Federal Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen will announce the creation of the zone at a press conference in Wollongong on Saturday morning, alongside Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones and local MP Alison Byrnes.

Dr Saul Griffith addressing a family fun day in support of offshore wind energy in Wollongong.Credit: Nick O’Malley

“Through this zone, the Albanese government will deliver up to 2.9 gigawatts of reliable renewable power – enough to power 1.8 million homes,” Bowen said.

The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water originally proposed a zone stretching across 1461 square kilometres of the Pacific Ocean from Wombarra in the north to Kiama in the south.

Government sources said the total size would be reduced by a third following the public consultation. As a result, the potential power generation would shrink from 4.2 gigawatts to 2.9 gigawatts.

The zone was originally proposed to start 10 kilometres offshore, and that would increase to 20 kilometres.

Protests against wind farms off the south coast include those with genuine environmental concerns and also opponents to renewables.Credit: AAP

The creation of the zone opens it up for projects to apply to build offshore wind within the boundaries.

One of the potential proponents could be Illawarra Offshore Wind, a partnership between Equinor and Oceanex, which states on its website that it would start construction in 2028 following approvals and turn on the power by 2030. It expects to create up to 3000 jobs through the project.

The proposal for offshore wind has been controversial in the Illawarra, with a number of community groups forming both in support and opposition.

Opponents have shared fears it will look ugly from the shore and disturb wildlife, including seabirds and migratory whales. Amid genuine concerns, misinformation has also been rife, including the circulation of a fake journal article claiming 400 whales a year would die.

An offshore wind farm in Denmark.Credit: Getty

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and his energy spokesman Ted O’Brien hardened their stance against offshore wind last year. In the United States, the issue has also been picked up by Republican politicians, including former president Donald Trump, who has said “whales are dying in record numbers because of these wind scams”, and wrapped into the broader culture war over climate change.

Despite the creation of the zone, the project would still need to be approved under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

Arthur Rorris, secretary of the South Coast Labour Council, told this masthead last year that what was to have been a simple community consultation process to discuss the potential wind energy zones had been hijacked by political actors.

“They keep demanding information about the impact on marine life or the size of the wind farms, but that information does not exist yet because the zones have not been identified, so the studies have not begun,” he said.

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