Australis Energy announces that its wholly owned Australian subsidiary, SA Offshore Windfarm Pty Ltd, has lodged an application for Impact Assessment to the South Australian government, and a referral to the Commonwealth under the respective environmental legislation, for its SA Offshore Windfarm Project.

The project is still at an early stage but, subject to planning and environmental approval, the Company hopes to commence construction in summer 2024/25 and be generating electricity in 2027.

Under the South Australian Planning, Development and Infrastructure (General) Regulations 2017, the establishment of a windfarm located in marine waters is classified as impact assessed development (Part 6, section 27(a1)(a)). As such, the project is deemed to be Impact Assessed and will require that an Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”) be prepared to consider the environmental, social and economic effects of the project. The Company has lodged the formal development application for Impact Assessment to the State Planning Commission.

In addition, the Company has also submitted a referral under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (“EPBC Act”) to the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment(1).

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 issue of combined Scoping Requirements.

Once the combined Scoping Requirements for the Project have been agreed, the EIS process can begin, involving surveys and wider stakeholder engagement. There will be a number of opportunities for the public to provide feedback on the assessment of the Project during the EIS phase.

Other assessment and approvals required for the Project include, heritage approvals under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1988 and Heritage Places Act 1993, and consent under the Marine Parks Act 2007.

Commenting on the news, Mark Petterson, Chairman of Australis said:
“We are delighted to have reached this milestone in the project. We look forward to working with the South Australian government 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 600 MW, enough to power over 400,000 South Australian homes. The electricity generated by the proposed offshore windfarm will support the South Australian Government’s target of 100% renewables by 2030.”

(1) http://epbcnotices.environment.gov.au/publicnoticesreferrals/

SA Offshore Wind Project

The proposed windfarm will be located approximately 10kms off the coast from Kingston SE, and 230kms south of Adelaide. The area is also close to existing infrastructure that will enable effective connection to South Australia's electrical grid (part of the National Electricity Market area).

Offshore wind energy in Australia is still in its formative stages but has the potential to play a key role, supporting renewable energy targets and the development of clean tech industries. The consistent, strong wind patterns offshore South Australia provide tremendous opportunity to develop high-capacity offshore wind energy.

The project is being developed by SA Offshore Windfarm Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Australis Energy Ltd. If constructed, the Project will comprise up to 75 offshore wind turbine generators (WTGs) with supporting offshore and onshore electrical assets to safely transfer energy generated by the wind farm to the existing electricity network. The size of individual WTGs is yet to be determined, with an anticipated capacity ranging between 8 MW and 15 MW. The preferred turbines are the larger (15 MW) WTGs, as fewer will be required (40), which will result in less construction activity and reduced visual impact.

The project will have a generation capacity of up to 600MW, enough to power over 400,000 South Australian homes, and create up to 100 permanent high quality jobs for its lifespan.

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