Parkwind and Mainstream bid for offshore wind acreage in Bass Strait
Belgian developer teams up with Australian oil & gas player Beach Energy, while Mainstream leads consortium in licensing round for acreage off Victoria state
Belgian developer Parkwind together with Australian oil & gas company Beach Energy, as well as a consortium led by Mainstream Renewable Power have bid in an offshore wind auction in the state of Victoria.
Awards are expected to be announced by the end of this year as southern Victoria is leading Australia’s offshore wind development aspirations with the first offshore wind licencing round as part of a plan to exit coal-fired generation and utilise existing high-capacity grid infrastructure.
“With our offshore wind expertise and Beach Energy’s proven track record in Australian offshore operations, we bring a world-leading solution to support Victoria’s and by extension, Australia’s green energy ambitions,” Parkwind co-CEO François Van Leeuw said.
The 'offshore electricity feasibility licences' up for grabs in the auction are for potential offshore wind projects in the Bass Strait off the coast of Gippsland in Victoria, Parkwind said. The Australian energy ministry in late January had released an invitation to apply for feasibility licences and accepted bids until 27 April 2023.
Mainstream had teamed up with Canada's Reventus Power, Australia's AGL and local developer Direct Infrastructure to submit a feasibility license application for a 2.5GW project in the Bass Strait, which the Ireland-based developer said has the potential to generate more than A$3.7bn ($2.4bn) in value added to the local economy.
"Mainstream was part of the partnership behind the UK’s biggest offshore wind supply chain success story and by leveraging the global experience of our parent company, the Aker group, we seek to bring similar benefits to the local supply chain in Australiam" said Tove Røskaft, head of offshore wind at Mainstream.
Beach Energy has experience operating in the harsh environment of the Bass Strait between Victoria and the Australian island state of Tasmania.
Aker-Horizons owned Mainstream is currently also developing a net capacity of 1.3GW in floating offshore wind in Scotland and South Korea, as well as 1.2GW of fixed-bottom offshore wind in Vietnam. The company also has a 1.5GW onshore wind development pipeline in the Australian state of Queensland.
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