Establishing offshore renewable energy infrastructure

 

Australia has many areas that may be suitable for offshore renewable energy infrastructure.

We regulate offshore renewable energy infrastructure in Australian Commonwealth waters under the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021 (OEI Act) and the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Regulations 2022. See the associated Regulatory Levies Act, Regulatory Levies Regulations and Consequential Amendments Act.

Australian Commonwealth waters start 3 nautical miles from the coastline and extend to the boundary of Australia’s exclusive economic zone.

The OEI Act and associated regulations enable the construction, operation and decommissioning of offshore electricity infrastructure. They outline how and where infrastructure projects for renewable energy generation or transmission can operate.

These projects include:

  • offshore wind and solar farms
  • wave energy plants
  • undersea interconnectors.

Enabling the offshore renewable energy industry supports the Australian Government’s aim to:

  • reduce emissions from the electricity sector
  • increase affordable electricity supply
  • create jobs.

Declaring suitable areas

Declaring suitable areas for offshore renewable energy infrastructure is a ministerial decision. Our department advises the Minister for Climate Change and Energy (the Minister) on suitable areas in consultation with:

  • other Australian Government departments and agencies
  • state and territory governments
  • industry stakeholders
  • local communities
  • the Australian public.

Considering a specific area for declaration requires a 60-day public consultation process. It will take into account factors including existing marine users.

Offshore renewable energy project nomination

The Commonwealth Government invites interested parties to nominate sites that they would like the Minister to consider for offshore renewable energy under the OEI Act via the Offshore Renewable Energy Project Nomination Form.

Declaration of an area - Gippsland, Victoria

The Minister declared an area in the Bass Strait off Gippsland as suitable for offshore wind energy on 19 December 2022. The instrument giving effect to the declaration, the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure (Declared Area OEI-01-2022) Declaration 2022, is available on the Federal Register of Legislation.

Notice of proposal to declare an area off the Hunter, New South Wales

The Minister has proposed an area in Commonwealth waters off the Hunter, New South Wales for offshore renewable energy projects. See the:

Provide your feedback on the proposal by 28 April 2023 on our have your say portal.

More information on the proposal, and access to an interactive map of the proposed area, can be found on the have your say portal.

Priority areas for assessment

The following regions, in no particular order, have been identified as priority areas for assessment for area declaration:

  • The Pacific Ocean region off the Illawarra in NSW
  • The Southern Ocean region off Portland in Victoria
  • The Bass Strait region off Northern Tasmania
  • The Indian Ocean region off Perth/Bunbury, WA.

Details of the five other regions and the public consultation processes will be announced in due course.

Licensing offshore renewable energy projects

Companies wanting to undertake offshore renewable energy infrastructure projects will need a licence:

  • Commercial licences allow offshore renewable energy infrastructure projects for up to 40 years.
  • Transmission and infrastructure licences permit installation and operation of undersea interconnectors to transmit electricity.
  • Research and demonstration (R&D) licences enable short-term projects (up to 10 years) to trial and test new offshore renewable energy technologies.

You will need a feasibility licence before applying for a commercial licence. Feasibility licences permit the holder to assess the feasibility of a project for up to 7 years.

You can apply for a feasibility or R&D licence in an area after the Minister declares it suitable for offshore renewable electricity infrastructure. Transmission licences do not need to be in a declared area.

The Offshore Infrastructure Registrar (the Registrar) administers licences for offshore renewable energy and transmission projects. Staff within the National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator (NOPTA) assist the Registrar.

Applying for a Feasibility Licence

To assist prospective licence holders and other stakeholders to understand the requirements and processes for feasibility licences, the Australian Government has developed a suite of guidance documents and approved forms.

These documents are available on the Registrar’s website: www.offshoreregistrar.gov.au

Invitation to apply for a Feasibility Licence - Gippsland Declared Area

An area in Bass Strait off Gippsland Victoria was declared suitable by the Minister for Climate Change and Energy on 19 December 2022.

Now that the area has been declared, offshore wind developers are able to apply for licences. The Minister for Climate Change and Energy has issued an invitation to apply for the Gippsland Declared Area. Feasibility Licence applications will be accepted for proposed projects within the Gippsland declared area from 23 January 2023 to 27 April 2023.

While applications for Feasibility Licences with the Gippsland declared area will be accepted from 23 January 2023, it should be noted that the Gippsland declaration is subject to a disallowance period. The members of Parliament have 15 parliamentary sitting days to consider if they want to disallow the declaration instrument.

Further information on the licence application process will be provided by the Offshore Infrastructure Registrar.

Once the application period has closed, the Offshore Infrastructure Registrar will lead assessment of all applications against criteria set out in the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Regulations 2022, and make recommendations to the Minister.

Conducting offshore infrastructure activities

Before an offshore infrastructure activity can commence a licence holder will need to submit a management plan to the Offshore Infrastructure Regulator (the Regulator).

The Regulator sits within the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA). It oversees work health and safety, infrastructure integrity, environmental management and financial security for offshore infrastructure activities.

Management plans will detail how your offshore infrastructure activities are proposed to be carried out and plans will vary according to the licence and type of project.

Proponents will need to seek all required approvals and licences under relevant Commonwealth and State or Territory legislation before any offshore infrastructure activities can occur.

You should engage with the Regulator early in your project planning.

Cost recovery

The Offshore Electricity Infrastructure (OEI) framework operates on a full cost recovery basis through the application of fees and levies on regulated entities. Cost recovery ensures the Registrar, the Regulator and the department are appropriately resourced to effectively and efficiently regulate the new offshore industry and administer the OEI framework.

In accordance with the Australian Government's Charging Framework a Cost Recovery Implementation Statement (CRIS) has been developed to set out the cost recovery activities for the OEI framework. It was approved by the Minister for Climate Change and Energy on 16 September 2022.

The CRIS will be subject to regular reviews to make sure the estimated costs are consistent with the actual effort over time.

Download

Cost Recovery Implementation Statement (PDF 754KB)
Cost Recovery Implementation Statement (DOCX 449KB)

If you have difficulty accessing these files, visit web accessibility for assistance.

Consulting with the public

We are consulting on the suitability of offshore renewable energy infrastructure in Commonwealth waters off the Hunter, New South Wales. Provide your feedback on the proposal by 28 April 2023 on our have your say portal.

We consulted on the suitability of offshore renewable energy infrastructure in Commonwealth waters off Gippsland, Victoria. The consultation closed on 7 October 2022.

We consulted on offshore electricity infrastructure fees, levies and licences from 22 March to 22 April 2022.

We consulted on the proposed regulatory framework in early 2020.

Read more

Contact us

If you are interested in further details on the framework email offshorerenewables@dcceew.gov.au