SSE Renewables, a unit of UK energy company SSE PLC (LON:SSE), has teamed up with Asia-Pacific-focused renewables developer Equis Development Pte Ltd to bid for a feasibility licence in Australia’s first offshore wind zone of Gippsland, near Victoria.
The companies have formed a 50/50 owned consortium to participate in the bidding, SSE Renewables said today.
The Bass Strait off Gippsland was declared as Australia’s first offshore wind zone by the Australia and Victoria governments at the end of 2022. A period for feasibility licence applications for proposed projects within the zone then opened in January and will close on April 27.
SSE Renewables and its local partner have identified the target areas they plan to seek a feasibility licence for. The move comes as “SSE is carefully targeting opportunities to expand its pipeline internationally,” according to the announcement.
If the partnership succeeds, SSE Renewables will be in charge of the engineering, procurement, construction, operations and maintenance of the offshore wind project, while Equis will lead the development work, including the grid connection, development approval and environmental requirements, community and stakeholder engagement, offtake and government licensing and financing requirements.
The offshore wind zone supports Victoria’s targets of having at least 2 GW of offshore generation by 2032, 4 GW by 2035 and 9 GW by 2040.
Source: renewablesnow
