An international energy company has ambitions to construct a one-gigawatt wind farm off the coast of Warrnambool.
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DP Energy Group - with headquarters in Ireland - has begun development and feasibility works into five proposed areas including the Warrnambool coast in the hope of progressing to a feasibility and then commercial licence.
Director country manager Catherine Way said the preliminary, "light touch" studies were under way while it waited for a tick of approval from the federal government to proceed with intensified exploration.
She said if successful, the "big" project could power up to 900,000 homes due to the rich resources in the area.
"We've chosen a few different areas that we think are prospective for offshore wind in the knowledge there's a really good grid," Ms Way said.
"We look at the wind resource, the load in the area, what the grid's like, the geo-morphology (landform evolution) of the seabed, the distance reports, fisheries, water depth, shipping routes, airports, protected areas and more.
"We think 'that area looks prospective', then we choose a site in the knowledge that at this stage it's an area we think has good feasibility but we need to do more studies on."
Those further analyses include ecological, technical and more geo-morphological studies.
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She emphasised before those works could begin, the company needed permission to access the area.
"Before you do any of that work, you need to get a guarantee you have some ability to have that piece of seabed from the federal government," Ms Way said.
"It's an expensive business developing offshore wind farms - we'll do some of those studies but the meat of the work happens once you can actually have access.
"The federal government have now developed a pathway to be able to give access to seabeds and they call it a feasibility licence.
"They have to declare an area first, which they haven't done for the Warrnambool area yet. Once they declare it, it goes out for a 60-day community consultation and then they will declare it for potential investors to apply.
"Once we get that federal certainty it takes around eight to 10 years to do all the studies before a project is built.
"It's a long process, so the area in Warrnambool has not been declared or put out for community consultation yet.
"But we're probably looking at around one gigawatt which would power around 900,000 homes."
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Jessica Greenan
Journalist at The Warrnambool Standard covering both Moyne Shire and Corangamite Shire Council. Sometimes court. Special interest in all things environment.
Journalist at The Warrnambool Standard covering both Moyne Shire and Corangamite Shire Council. Sometimes court. Special interest in all things environment.
