Stefan Bradley
FLOTATION Energy’s offshore wind project Seadragon will not go ahead, after the federal government did not grant the Japanese-backed company a feasibility licence to construct an offshore wind farm in waters off the coast of Ninety Mile Beach, connecting to Victoria’s electricity network.
The project proposed building up to 150 wind turbines and a network of subsea cables, with an indicative generation capacity of 1.5 gigawatts.
This rejection of the licence comes despite the government granting Seadragon ‘Major Project Status’ last year, predicting it had a capital expenditure of $6.5 billion and would create around 1600 construction jobs and 200 ongoing jobs over 35 years.
Major Project Status is federal recognition of the national significance of a large-scale (worth over $50 million) project for economic growth, employment, or for regional Australia, as well as its need for support to navigate complex regulatory approval.
A total of 37 applications for licences were considered by the federal government, who called the process very competitive. Those successful have not been officially announced.
Carolyn Sanders, Executive Director of Flotation Energy confirmed the news earlier this month.
“We’re obviously very surprised and disappointed. We’ve been working on Seadragon since 2019, and it’s an excellent project,” Ms Sanders said.
“The federal government thought so too. That’s why they awarded us Major Project Status last year. We have an extremely strong team on the ground in Gippsland and excellent data over the project area. Our effort and engagement has been unparalleled.
“We’ve engaged closely over the last five years with the local community, traditional owners and a wide range of stakeholders to design a carefully considered project and help create the opportunity for an offshore wind industry in Gippsland.
“We’ll have a close look at the government’s decision. We’re committed to helping Australia make its energy transition, so we’ll work closely with the government to make sure our application for the Bunbury zone (in Western Australia) is a success.”
