Spinifex offshore wind project accepts feasibility licence offer

The Spinifex Offshore Wind Project, located off the coast of South West Victoria, has accepted an offer of a feasibility licence from the Australian Government.

Spinifex is being co-developed by Parkwind, which is part of JERA Nex, and Alinta Energy. It is the first and most advanced project to be offered a licence in the Southern Ocean offshore wind zone.

The feasibility licence grants the project the opportunity to explore the viability or practicality of the proposed project within a designated area.

Alinta Energy MD & CEO Jeff Dimery thanked the government for progressing the offshore wind industry’s development in the Southern Ocean zone.

“We’ve done a lot of work on the project over almost four years, so it’s great that the project has moved quickly from zone declaration to a feasibility licence being offered.

“We thank the government for the prompt decision. It puts us in a good position to complete our upcoming seasonal surveys and keep progressing the project."

CEO of JERA Nex, Nathalie Oosterlinck states: “This announcement is an important step but there is plenty of further work to do. We welcome this decision by the government and look forward to bringing our global expertise and scale into this joint venture, while remaining focused on consulting and working closely with the local community, various levels of government and other key stakeholders to ensure the shared success of this project.”

Spinifex continues to seek collaboration and consultation with the community and stakeholders to help shape the project and create lasting environmental, economic and social benefits for South West Victoria and beyond.

Spinifex is targeting 1.2GW of capacity, which is enough to power approximately 650,000 Victorian homes each year.