Australis Energy announces that its wholly owned Australian subsidiary, WA Offshore Windfarm Pty, has been approved for Lead Agency Service (Level 2) by the Western Australia Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation (“JTSI”), for its WA Offshore Windfarm Project.

The lead agency (JTSI), in addition to application tracking and approvals management, will appoint a project manager to assist with proposal scoping, approval planning and inter-agency coordination. The lead agency will monitor progress across the Western Australia Government and assist in the identification and resolution of issues impeding the approvals process.

The Project is currently in the pre-planning application stage. If approved, early construction work could begin in the Australian summer 2024/25 and the Project could be completed and operational in summer 2026/27.

Following referral under the Environmental Protection Act 1986 (“EP Act”) to the Western Australia Environmental Protection Authority (“EPA”) in April 2021, it has been determined that the Project should undergo a Public Environmental Review (“PER”) comprising preparation of an Environmental Review Document (“ERD”) that will be placed on public display for 6 weeks. In addition, the Company has also submitted a referral under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (“EPBCAct”) to the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (“DAWE”).

Assuming an assessment will be required under the EPBC Act, the next key milestone for the Project will be a bi-lateral agreement between the State and Federal authorities with respect to the Environmental Assessment for the Project and the preparation of an Environmental Scoping Document (“ESD”), outlining the assessment requirements.

Following the preparation of the ESD, the PER process will commence and the ERD prepared. This will involve a comprehensive program of marine and land side surveys and wider community and stakeholder engagement. There will be a number of opportunities for the public to provide feedback on the Project as part of the PER process.

A separate planning approval will also be required for the Project under the Western Australian Planning and Development Act 2005.

Commenting on the news, Mark Petterson, Chairman of Australis said:
“We are delighted to gain the lead agency approval, with its associated recognition by the WA Government that the Project will involve significant capital investment and employ a large number of people for an extensive period of time. We look forward to working with JTSI and other government departments as we progress the project through the environmental approvals process. Subject to the necessary consents and permits being obtained, the project will have a renewable electricity generation capacity of up to 300 MW, enough to power over 200,000 WA homes. The electricity generated by the proposed offshore windfarm will support the WA Government’s target of net zero emissions by 2050.”

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