UK firm proposes $1b wind farm for waters off WA’s South West

A British firm is proposing to install nearly 40 wind turbines off WA’s south-west under a $1 billion proposal that would generate enough energy to power 200,000 homes. The turbines would be erected on monopiles 10m in diameter that would be driven into the ocean floor 5.5km off the coast between Myalup and Preston Beach, 20kms north of Bunbury. Under preliminary documents filed with the State’s Environmental Protection Authority, British-based Australis Energy hopes to secure the necessary approvals to begin construction in early 2025 with the aim of providing power to the South West electricity grid by late-2026. The project is one of three offshore proposals being pursued by Australis in Australia, with other projects in South Australia and Victoria also under consideration, according to the company’s filing with the EPA. Australis is chaired by Mark Petterson, an executive co-owner of Britain’s biggest independent offshore wind farm developer, Warwick Energy. Warwick has developed more than 800 megawatts of generation capacity off the UK, including the Thanet project, the world’s biggest wind farm when it entered production in 2010. “Offshore wind farms are currently being built in areas of favourable wind conditions and shallow water where construction costs are lower,” the EPA filing said. “The density of wind energy offshore in south western Australia represents an attractive location for offshore wind farms, and when combined with the relatively shallow waters, and small tidal range, the proposed State waters location represents an ideal location for an initial offshore wind farm construction to kickstart the industry.” Australis is looking to install between 20 and 37 154m-high turbines with a maximum capacity of 300 megwatts in up to 16m of water, along with an offshore substation covering 800sqm. The proposal is subject to consultations with various stakeholders, environmental studies and regulatory approvals.