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RWE has received a feasibility license from the Australian Government to develop an offshore wind farm near the Kent Group islands in the Bass Strait, off the Gippsland coast in Victoria. This location is Australia’s first designated offshore wind zone.
This license grants RWE an exclusive 7-year seabed right to develop the Kent Offshore Wind Farm project. It also allows RWE to apply for a commercial license to build and operate the wind farm for up to 40 years.
The awarded lease area has the potential to host a wind farm with a capacity of up to two gigawatts (GW), sufficient to power approximately 1.6 million Australian homes with green electricity. Located about 67 kilometers off the coast with average water depths of 59 meters, the wind farm is expected to become operational in the early 2030s, subject to the planning and approvals process, secured offtake, and grid connection. Sven Utermöhlen, CEO of RWE Offshore Wind, said, “Australia is a very attractive growth market for renewable energy. RWE has been active in the country for 10 years and operates one of Australia’s largest solar farms. By securing exclusive seabed rights in the Bass Strait off Gippsland, we are now entering the Australian offshore wind market and will bring our more than 20 years of experience in this field. With the Kent project, we will work on developing one of the first offshore wind farms off the Australian coast. This is in line with our strategy to grow our renewables portfolio in Australia and the wider APAC region.”
