Webinars
Webinar – December 2024
The Gippsland Dawn project team hosted a webinar on 3 December 2024 to provide an update about the project and what is coming up for 2025. You can watch the webinar by clicking the link below.
Newsletters
Newsletter – November 2024
We’re excited to share details of our Gippsland Dawn Offshore Wind Project. This 2.1 GW offshore wind project is proposed to be located 10–33 kilometres off the coast between Paradise Beach and Ocean Grange in Gippsland.
Factsheets
Marine surveys
Marine surveys will continue throughout the design and development stage of the project. The surveys will show the current or baseline conditions in the area.
Floating LiDAR buoy
A floating LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) buoy is an anchored floating device that provides highly accurate data to inform offshore wind farm developments.
Project overview
Project overview
By harnessing the power of Gippsland’s abundant wind resources, Gippsland Dawn will generate green energy capable of powering over 1 million homes and businesses.
Frequently asked questions
General
How does offshore wind work?
Large turbines are constructed out at sea, where winds are the strongest. The wind turns the blades of a turbine around the rotor, which spins inside of a generator, creating electricity. The electricity is then sent to a substation and then back to shore through cables and into the energy grid to be used to power homes and businesses.
What are the benefits of offshore wind?
Offshore wind will deliver a range of social, economic and environmental benefits. Offshore wind will create thousands of jobs during construction and employ hundreds of people in ongoing roles. Local investment will result in additional jobs in support services including transport and hospitality. Offshore wind is one of the fastest growing renewable energy technologies worldwide. It will help Victoria reach its emissions reduction target of net zero by 2045.
Will offshore wind replace wind farms on land?
Australia has both abundant land for onshore wind and world-class wind speeds off many of its coasts. It is anticipated that offshore wind will complement other renewable technologies and allow the development of projects much closer to large coastal populations.
Out at sea the wind is stronger and more consistent, meaning the turbines can generate more energy than turbines on land. Offshore wind turbines can also be larger than the turbines used on land, meaning more energy can be captured.
For Australia to achieve its net zero target, we will need a mix of renewable energy sources including both onshore and offshore wind.
Why Gippsland – what other locations have been considered?
The Australian Government identified six areas as potentially suitable for offshore wind. Three of these areas have been declared as offshore wind zones; one off the coast of Gippsland in Victoria, another off the Hunter coast in New South Wales and a third off the coast of southwest Victoria.
Three other potential zones are being considered off the Illawarra coast in New South Wales, the north coast of Tasmania and south of Perth in Western Australia.
Why was the project site selected?
The Gippsland offshore wind zone was declared by the Australian Government in 2022. This area was determined to be suitable for offshore wind because:
It’s extremely windy! The wind off the coast of Gippsland is some of the strongest and most consistent in the world.
It is located close to the existing transmission infrastructure in the Latrobe Valley.
Gippsland Dawn Offshore Wind Project is located within this declared zone. In June 2024 the Australian Energy Minister awarded Gippsland Dawn a feasibility licence to assess the suitability of the proposed site area for an offshore wind project.
Who is the developer of Gippsland Dawn?
Gippsland Dawn Offshore Wind Project is 100 per cent owned by BlueFloat Energy. BlueFloat Energy is a European-based developer with projects across ten countries. We have a growing team in Australia, including team members in Gippsland.
Are offshore wind developers working together in Gippsland?
The only way we can build an entire industry is if we work together. As we progress through the feasibility phase, we will seek to coordinate activities such as community engagement and supply chain development with other offshore wind developers where possible.
Will you build your own transmission line?
VicGrid is responsible for developing the transmission infrastructure that will connect offshore wind projects in Gippsland into the electricity grid.
Electricity generated by the project will come onshore via an underground cable that will continue underground to the VicGrid connection hub.
You can stay up to date with VicGrid’s shared transmission project in Gippsland here.
Where will the project cross the shore?
This is still to be determined as we work through feasibility studies for the project. We will need to conduct a range of environmental, social, economic, cultural heritage and technical assessments to find the most suitable place for the cables to cross the shore.
The cables will come ashore underneath the sand dunes using ‘horizontal directional drilling’. An underground cable will then run underground to the shared transmission connection hub developed by VicGrid.
How much power will the turbines produce?
A 15 MW turbine would generate enough electricity each year to meet the needs of over 7,000 households. Gippsland Dawn will produce up to 2,100 MW, which means that the project could generate enough electricity to power around 1 million homes and businesses.
Today a typical offshore wind farm uses 10-14 megawatt (MW) turbines. As the technology develops, the size of turbines will increase. We anticipate that each turbine used for the project will be between 15-22 MW. This will be determined during the feasibility phase of the project.
How big are the turbines?
It is anticipated that each turbine used for Gippsland Dawn will be between 260–325 metres high. The turbine rotor will have a diameter of approximately 235–275 metres. As the technology develops, the size of turbines will increase. We anticipate that each turbine used for the project will be between 15–22 MW. This will be determined during the feasibility phase of the project.
What stage is the project at?
In June 2024, Minister Bowen announced a feasibility licence for Gippsland Dawn. This licence allows us to conduct technical and environmental studies within the proposed area to determine whether it is suitable for offshore wind.
What is the timeline for the project?
It is anticipated 4–5 years of feasibility activities will be undertaken before a commercial licence is sought, subject to receiving environmental approvals. The feasibility licence term lasts for a maximum of 7 years.
A commercial licence will enable the construction of the project, which will take approximately two years. The project will operate for up to 30 years and the infrastructure will then be decommissioned.
Will the turbines be removed when the project finishes?
At this stage, it is anticipated that the offshore structures (such as the turbines, offshore substations and electric cables) will be removed as part of the decommissioning process at the end of the project’s life. Onshore underground cables and any above-ground infrastructure would also be removed.
Requirements for decommissioning will be conditions of the environment and planning approvals for the project.
Are wind turbines recyclable?
Currently, around 90% of a wind turbine can be recycled. The tower of the wind turbine is made of steel, and the blades are currently made of glass or carbon fibre-reinforced polymer composites (similar to the material that many boats are made from). The electrical components within the turbine are primarily made of metals such as steel, copper and aluminium which can be reused.
The wind industry is constantly developing new solutions to improve the recyclability of the blades and other components as this is an important issue. The Australian Government has recently backed plans to invest up to $6.3 million in a cooperative project to assist in the recycling of wind turbine blades.
Community
What are the benefits for Gippsland?
The offshore wind industry will create hundreds of regional jobs in Gippsland. The construction workforce for this project will be approx. 2,000 strong, with an operating workforce of 200–300. It is estimated there will be a further 2,000 indirect jobs created across Gippsland in transport, hospitality and services.
BlueFloat Energy commissioned a report by ACIL Allen in 2023 to understand the potential economic benefits of a 2.1 GW offshore wind project. The report estimated about $10 billion of capital investment for a project of this scale.
Gippsland Dawn will offer local and regional economic benefits, including job opportunities throughout the supply chain, investments in local infrastructure, and the involvement of local businesses and industries.
WillI be able to see the turbines from the shore?
We are currently working on preliminary visual simulations that will provide an example of what the project’s wind turbines may look like from various points along the coastline. We will share these once they are available. We will also study the potential visual and landscape impacts in detail as a part of the environment impact assessment required for the project.
The Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) has developed visual simulations of what wind turbines may look like from certain locations and distances offshore in Gippsland here.
Will we be able to hear the turbines from shore?
Wind passing through the turbines produces some sound. If you were standing around 400m from the turbine, this sound would be approximately 40 decibels – equivalent to the noise made by a domestic refrigerator.
It’s not expected that you will hear this noise from the coast given the turbines will be at least 10km out to sea.
Any potential noise impact will be assessed as part of the environmental impact assessment required for the project. We intend to share the results of noise studies and other assessments for community review and feedback.
Will fishing and boating be permitted inside the wind farm?
We believe that commercial and recreational fishing and boating industries can continue to operate alongside our project. In other cases overseas, fishing and boating operations can be undertaken within an operating offshore wind project area.
We will engage early with fishers and boaters to understand how we can operate side-by-side. Safety and productivity are paramount.
Will there be boating exclusion zones?
Based on other offshore wind projects around the world, many types of boating (including recreational boating) can continue to operate as usual within an operating offshore wind project area. The wind turbines are expected to be spaced approximately 1.5 km apart, with small safety exclusion zones around the base.
Environmental studies and approvals
How are offshore wind projects regulated?
There are a number of approvals that will be required before the project can be built.
Potential environmental, social and economic impacts of the project will be assessed by the Australian and Victorian governments under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) and under State legislation.
The Offshore Infrastructure Regulator (OIR) is responsible for regulating health and safety and environmental management for offshore wind activities, including some surveys, construction, operation and maintenance and decommissioning. A management plan will need to be developed in consultation with stakeholders and approved by the OIR to ensure these activities are safe and compliant. The contents of the management plan will be informed by the environmental approvals.
A number of other approvals will be needed for various activities to ensure all aspects of the project comply with regulations and best practice.
What will the impacts be during construction and operation?
Climate change is recognised as the biggest threat to marine ecosystems. Renewable technologies are playing an important role in reducing climate change. However, any activity in the marine environment has the potential to impact the landscape of the area and some aspects of the environment.
Our project will prepare an environmental impact assessment that meets requirements under Australian and Victorian law. Marine life, whale migration, bird studies and other environmental impact studies will all be part of the environmental impact assessment, as well as other assessments including noise, visual and more.