In 2022, Danish company Copenhagen Energy announced plans for a 3GW offshore wind farm off the west coast of Australia – the largest project of its kind in the country.
The proposal included the installation of 200 turbines and associated offshore substation platforms in Geographe Bay, roughly 130km from Perth. Copenhagen Energy said that once operational the site would have an output of up to 11 terawatt-hours a year – equal to half the generation of the state’s main grid, the South-West Interconnected System.
The Leeuwin offshore wind farm seemed like a key step toward achieving Australia’s ambitious renewable energy targets – 52% renewable electricity generation by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050.
Fast forward to the beginning of this year, and the project has been shelved, largely due to ongoing opposition from local communities and governments.
The Geographe Bay project highlights the hurdles Australia must overcome to fully embrace offshore wind and serves as a cautionary tale for similar initiatives worldwide.
The consultation for the project was opened to the public, and while there were some supporters, tensions around the project were notable.
The main concerns included costs and risks to the local environment and “way of life”, with fishing and diving popular as both tourist attractions and job opportunities for locals.
The proposed zone spanned 7,674km² and would have come as close as 20km from shore, which some highlighted as potentially encroaching on marine life and reducing locals’ access to the water.
The proposed and final declaration Bunbury offshore wind area off the coastline of Geographe Bay. Credit: Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. “Potential impacts from offshore energy projects include displacement of fishing activity, habitat loss, changes to hydrology affecting fish feeding, breeding and migration, as well as visual and chemical pollution,” says Leyland Campbell, operations manager for local fisheries body Recfishwest.
“While these are significant,” he adds, “the greatest concern remains access restrictions linked to offshore wind energy developments.”
The project also received backlash from opposing government officials, with the federal opposition vowing to scrap the project if it was elected.
Peter Dutton, leader of the opposition party in Australia, said offshore wind in Geographe Bay was “not in the environment’s best interests, not in the economy’s best interest, not in the region’s best interest”, while liberal candidate Ben Small labelled the project’s consultation period a “sham”.
The project was quietly shelved, and the status of the site as a potential renewable hub remains open.
The incident joins a growing catalogue of offshore wind initiatives that have been shelved due to environmental pushback and regulatory delays. With offshore wind a crucial part of Labor’s clean energy plan, there is the growing need to overcome these problems if offshore wind is to gain momentum.
Australia’s vast coastline and high winds make it a prime candidate for developing offshore wind, with the Global Wind Energy Council estimating the country has the potential to generate up to 5TW of electricity from offshore wind per year.
The government has made its support of the industry clear, allocating A$40bn ($26.7bn) to renewable development in the 2023–24 Federal Budget.
Despite this potential, Australia has struggled to get offshore wind projects off the ground. According to Power Technology’s parent company, GlobalData, the country has 43 large-scale offshore wind projects in the pipeline but none operational or even close to completion.
Multiple planned projects in the country have either been paused or abandoned. In January 2023, Oceanex Energy announced it would halt the development of offshore projects on the west coast due to repeated delays and setbacks in the approvals process. Meanwhile, German developer Skyborn Renewables pulled out of Australia entirely after its proposed offshore wind project in South Australia was rejected in November 2023 over concerns about potential harm to marine life and the fishing industry.
Attaurrahman Ojindaram Saibasan, power analyst at GlobalData, says project costs, labour shortages and environmental concerns are the primary issues stalling the approvals processes.
“The substantial initial capital investment required for the development of wind farms is a significant hurdle, especially for smaller developers,” he says. “Securing financing is challenging due to perceived risks such as regulatory changes and market volatility.
“In addition, the country does not have an adequate supply of skilled workers for turbine maintenance, as well as sufficient nautical engineering expertise for offshore wind farms.”
The main obstacle, however, is Australia’s regulatory landscape.
Tony Wood, director of the energy programme at the Grattan Institute, tells Power Technology that the lack of cohesion between state and federal governments in Australia has led to “messy consequences” for renewable projects.
“The nature of Australia’s federal system means that offshore wind projects must deal with both state and federal regulatory requirements, and the latter have really only progressed in the last few years,” he said. “Many companies coming to Australia had not expected this challenge.”
Calls for clearer guidance on renewable projects have been echoed amongst community groups. For instance, the Western Australian Local Government Association released a statement calling for the state government to put out clearer guidelines that incorporate community engagement, which reflect “strong and ongoing” feedback from local governments.
“Projects [are] being considered on an ad-hoc basis,” the group said. “There is no coordinated approach to integrating these investments into existing communities and industries, leaving individual local governments and their communities to ‘reinvent the wheel’ in their efforts to achieve the best outcomes.”
Similarly, Saibasan says robust policies with strict timelines are needed to meet Australia’s renewable energy goals, including a transparent permitting process and comprehensive environmental impact assessments.
“It is essential to set clear regulations and equitable costs for the integration of offshore wind into the power grid,” he explains, “while simultaneously enhancing the grid to facilitate the smooth incorporation of offshore wind facilities.”
Looking to the UK, an early offshore wind innovator, government intervention has been instrumental in overcoming investment and public acceptance hurdles.
“Stable, predictable government support has been critical to the development of offshore wind,” senior energy and climate analyst at think tank Ember, Frankie Mayo, tells Power Technology.
He pointed to the contracts for difference (CfD) scheme, introduced in 2016, as a major success.
“The CfD scheme runs an annual auction where developers bid for a 15-year contract that guarantees a certain power price for their projects,” he said. “By reducing the price risk faced by developers, this scheme has supported 9.1GW of offshore wind to date and has awarded contracts to an additional 15GW currently under construction.”
A clearer government approach in Australia could foster similar confidence, smoothing the path for approvals and increasing public acceptance.
In terms of local opposition and environmental concerns “like marine impacts”, Mayo says they “can never be fully eliminated”. However, he notes that “in the UK, awareness of the importance of decarbonised energy translated to a generally positive support for offshore wind”, indicating that communities were more likely to put their local concerns aside when there were clear government signals highlighting a greater good.
From a global perspective, this is a pivotal moment for the large-scale adoption of offshore wind.
The sector has undergone rapid expansion in recent years, with major technological advances driving down costs and improving accessibility. Indeed, the International Energy Agency estimates costs could drop by as much as 40% by 2030.
Environmental mitigation efforts are also advancing quickly.
With countries such as the UK and several parts of Europe leading offshore wind development, best practices for minimising environmental risks and protecting marine ecosystems are now well established. In 2023, the Offshore Coalition for Energy and Nature identified 80 measures to minimise offshore wind’s impact on marine life, providing a road map for responsible development.
Meanwhile, Australia’s regional neighbours – China, Japan and South Korea – are rapidly expanding offshore wind to meet clean energy targets. Estimates from Ember suggest that China will account for almost half of global offshore wind capacity by 2030, while Japan and South Korea are targeting 10GW and 12GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, respectively.
This growing momentum underscores the urgency for Australia to accelerate its own offshore wind industry or risk falling behind. In this context, the Geographe Bay project serves as a clear example of both the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Overcoming regulatory bottlenecks, fostering cooperation between government bodies and engaging local communities will be critical to unlocking Australia’s offshore wind potential.
With the right policies and a commitment to long-term investment, Australia has the opportunity to become a global leader in offshore wind – delivering clean, reliable energy while securing its position in the renewable future.
"Making offshore wind a reality in Australia" was originally created and published by Power Technology, a GlobalData owned brand.
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