New legislation paves the way for Australian offshore wind industry
25 November 2021
Star of the South - Australia’s first offshore wind project – welcomes the passing of new federal legislation to enable offshore electricity projects to be built and operated in Australia.
The Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Bill 2021 provides a critical legal framework and pathway for projects like the 2.2GW Star of the South to continue investing in project development.
The project acknowledges the work and leadership of the Australian Government in progressing these important reforms and welcomes the strong cooperation and support across all parties in successfully passing the legislation.
A clear regulatory framework sends a positive signal to the global offshore wind market to attract continued and new investment in this future industry, which is set to create thousands of jobs and boost regional economies.
Offshore wind represents a strong economic opportunity for Australia with modelling demonstrating an estimated 3,000 direct jobs and more than $10 billion of wider economic benefits resulting from 2.2GW of offshore wind in Gippsland – primarily in regional Australia.
Star of the South is the most progressed offshore wind project in Australia, located off the south coast of Gippsland in Victoria.
Quotes attributable to Star of the South CEO, Casper Frost Thorhauge
“We welcome the passing of the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Bill and acknowledge the work of Minister Taylor and the Australian Government in prioritising this important legislation.”
“We look forward to ongoing engagement with government on the development of more detailed regulations next year.”
“This Bill is a major milestone in kick-starting a new industry, realising Australia’s offshore wind potential and unlocking jobs and economic benefits for regional Australia.”
About Star of the South
Star of the South is Australia’s first offshore wind project, proposed to be located off the south coast of Gippsland in Victoria. The project is in the feasibility phase with environmental assessments underway to support planning and approvals. If Star of the South is approved and proceeds to construction, the project could start construction as early as 2025 with full power toward the end of the decade.
The project is jointly owned by Australian Founders with investment and majority ownership from leading offshore wind developer Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.
About Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners P/S (CIP) is a fund management company focused on energy infrastructure including offshore wind, onshore wind, solar PV, biomass and energy-from-waste, transmission and distribution, reserve capacity and storage, and other energy assets like Power-to-X. CIP has approximately 250 employees and offices in Copenhagen, Hamburg, London, New York, Tokyo, Utrecht and Melbourne.
CIP manages eight funds and has approximately EUR 16 billion under management. PensionDanmark was founding and sole investor in CI I and CI A I. Today CIP’s funds have approximately 100 international institutional investors from the Nordics, Continental Europe, the UK, Israel, Asia, Australia, and North America and multi-lateral organisations e.g. EIB.
CIP was founded in 2012 by senior executives from the energy industry in cooperation with PensionDanmark.