Insults fly as offshore wind plan seeks pause ahead of Australian election

Spanish developer BlueFloat Energy has asked the Australian government to pause assessment of an offshore wind project until after the nation's upcoming election, when an opposition that has vowed to rip up the zone the array is planned for could win power.

BlueFloat said that it had lodged an application for a feasibility licence in the Illawarra offshore wind area off the coast of New South Wales (NSW) in August last year but is now asking the government to “consider not offering any licences” until after the election.

The project in question was not named. BlueFloat has been developing the Wollongong floating Offshore Wind Project and the South Pacific Offshore Wind Project in the Illawarra region, both 1.6GW floating arrays.

The Illawarra offshore wind zone is one of several that Peter Dutton, whose right-wing Liberal Party heads the opposition Coalition, has vowed to scrap if he becomes Prime Minister.

The Labor government under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese won power in 2022 on a pledge to turn Australia into a “renewables superpower” and has helped get Australia’s offshore wind sector off the ground by declaring offshore wind zones around the country.

The Nationals, which is in the opposition Coalition with Dutton’s Liberals, celebrated the BlueFloat move as a “major win for Illawarra locals”. Party leader David Littleproud said the Nationals “have led the way in stopping Labor’s bad plan.”

“This project was always a dumb idea that was never going to work,” he said, adding it was backed by Labor’s energy minister Chris Bowen who is “devoid of reality”.

At a press conference yesterday, Bowen criticised the opposition for having “said they will rip up [offshore wind] zones.”

“That’s created considerable angst in the offshore wind community. Offshore wind is energy rich and its jobs rich and I want to create jobs for the people of the Illawarra, and offshore wind has that massive potential.”

“People who never cared about a whale in their life all of a sudden care about whale life. Yes, I’m thinking of Peter Dutton who has never mentioned the word whale in his time in Federal Parliament but now he’s an environmental warrior and, you know, might as well be on the Rainbow Warrior if you listen to his rhetoric.”

“So, that is disinformation. Whales coexist with offshore wind right around the world. They’re smart animals. They coexist with the oil and gas rigs too. I don’t hear Peter Dutton saying they should be pulled out. So, this is disgraceful disinformation by Peter Dutton. We will work with communities on genuine concerns, and we will counter disinformation at every turn.”