'I won't be revoking the zone': Offshore wind decision to stay

"I won't be revoking the zone," he told The Standard on Friday, April 19, 2024.

The federal government is in the process of updating the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act which does allow the minister to revoke a declared offshore wind zone.

But Mr Bowen has no plans to change his mind on the declared zone off Warrnambool and Port Fairy which he announced in March.

The announcement of the scaled-back zone - which was just one fifth the size of the proposed zone - came as a shock to Warrnambool whose residents assumed the offshore wind farms would be concentrated around Portland.

Alinta, who had originally planned to build its Spinifex wind farm off Portland harbour, said it was now looking to put its $4 billion project off Warrnambool and potentially connect to the electricity grid in Portland via an underground sea cable.

While Mr Bowen has no plans in his diary to visit Warrnambool, he said he would "inevitably" come through to engage with the community on the process which would be rolling out between now and 2030.

"I will be engaging very strongly," he said.

"There won't be any wind turbines in off Warrnambool any time in the immediate future. This is long-term planning. We've got to make sure we get it right."

He said there would also be more engagement with First Nations people during future stages.

"I did make changes to the zone based on First Nations feedback around Deen Maar et cetera," he said.

Mr Bowen said he wanted to see Warrnambool and Port Fairy benefit from offshore wind farms.

"I want to see strong and real community benefits," he said.

"I'm not talking about buying jerseys for the local football team, as nice as that is. I'm talking about big investments in the community."

Mr Bowen said how the wind farm companies planned to invest back into the community was a factor he would take into consideration when deciding who to give a feasibility licence to.

He said upgrades to the Warrnambool airport had been raised with him a number of times and it would be something that "should be on the list" of things to be considered.

"I'm not here to make promises I can't keep but there will be real community benefits," Mr Bowen said.

He welcomed the recent meeting with Warrnambool mayor Ben Blain and acting chief executive officer Luke Coughlan, which he described as constructive, on the offshore wind zone.

The declared zone off Warrnambool can cater for three separate wind farm projects, but just how many turbines there might be won't be known until after the feasibility application process closes in July.

The Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water is working on a visualisation of what the wind turbines could look like off Warrnambool and Port Fairy which it expects to make public next month.

The zone's closest point to land is 15 kilometres off Warrnambool but 20 kilometres off Port Fairy. The furthest point is 50 kilometres offshore.

The turbines would be visible from The Crags looking out to Deen Maar if you're facing east, but they will be at least 20 kilometres away.

On a clear day there would be "some visibility" of the tops of any turbines sited 20 kilometres away but they would be hard to see if they were 30 kilometres away.

The turbines should not be visible from the Twelve Apostles.

Mr Bowen said each offshore wind farm zone in Australia was different.

"Not every inch of it will have a wind turbine on it... I don't know how many I'll pick," he said.

"We're still at the very early stage of the process."

Overseas, offshore turbines are usually sited between one to two kilometres apart.

Mr Bowen said the government would take management of all marine life into account during the various stages of feasibility studies, licences and environmental studies - and that included the southern right whale.

"Your area is very special as a nursery. There are whales coexisting with offshore wind right around the world," he said.

Mr Bowen said whales also coexisted with oil and gas rigs as well as cargo and cruise ships.

"They are very smart animals," he said.

"The biggest threat to whales in Warrnambool and everywhere is climate change.

"We are seeing malnutrition of whales because their krill source is depleting, warming waters are terrible news for whales.

"That is why we are doing all this. We are not doing this for fun."