Controversial wind farm stretching along NSW’s scenic south coast given green light by Albanese government
A huge, controversial offshore wind farm stretching along some of Australia’s most beautiful coastlines has been given the green light by the Albanian government.
Federal Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen will announce the establishment of the zone in Wollongong, 93 kilometers south of Sydney, on Saturday morning.
“Through this zone, the Albanian government will provide up to 2.9 gigawatts of reliable renewable energy – enough to power 1.8 million homes,” Bowen said.
The proposed project has caused huge controversy in the Illawarra region, with protests against it from both opponents of renewable energy and those concerned about the environment.
Some opponents said the project would look unsightly from shore and would disturb both seabirds and migrating whales.
A huge, controversial offshore wind farm stretching along some of Australia’s most beautiful coastlines has been given the green light by the Albanian government. The photo shows a protest against this last October
However, the impact of environmental concerns was mitigated by the circulation of a fake magazine article claiming it killed 400 whales a year.
Following public consultation, the turbines will be located 20km offshore instead of the originally proposed 10km, and the overall size of the wind farm footprint has been reduced by a third.
Climate Council head of policy and advocacy Jennifer Rayner said the Illawarra region – long a manufacturing power – would continue to thrive for generations with affordable and clean energy produced in the region.
“Offshore wind energy will be an important part of Australia’s clean energy grid, providing reliable, stable renewable energy 24 hours a day,” Dr Rayner said.
“This is one of the important ways we can keep Australia powered as our outdated and unreliable coal-fired power stations close.
“The federal and state governments must work together to quickly break roadblocks holding back the implementation of onshore wind projects already supported by communities and investors.”
Ty Christopher, director of the University of Wollongong’s Energy Futures Network, said the offshore wind project was a positive step for the region.
“By working together as a community and sharing our environmental concerns to co-design a clean energy future for the region, we have the ability to deliver positive outcomes for our oceans, our communities and our local economy,” he said .
The proposed project has caused huge controversy in the Illawarra region, with protests against it from both opponents of renewable energy and those concerned about the environment (photo, artist’s impression of the proposed project)
Thousands of people attended a rally against the proposal at Flagstaff Point last October Environmentalists say the wind farm would be in the migration path of up to 40,000 whales.
The construction of the new zone allows investors to apply to build offshore wind energy within the boundaries.
Illawarra Offshore Wind says on its website that it could start construction in 2028 after approvals and turn on power by 2030.
The project expects to create around 3,000 jobs.