“Major global and Australian investors have rapidly positioned to secure development sites in Victoria and other states,” said Simon Corbell of the Clean Energy Investor Group, which represents 18 investors with $24 billion in Australian renewable energy assets. “There is huge appetite from investors for offshore wind development in Australia.”

In November last year, Victoria pledged about $40 million under the Energy Innovation Fund for feasibility studies and pre-construction development for three major offshore wind proposals: Star of the South, Macquarie Group and Flotation Energy.

The most developed of the proposals, Star of the South, received $19.5 million from the state government to support pre-construction work, including site investigations in Gippsland and offshore geotechnical work.

On Friday, Flotation Energy — a company seeking to develop the 1.5GW Seadragon offshore wind project — said the Andrews government’s commitment could unlock billions of dollars of new investment, create new skilled jobs and opportunities for local supply chains.

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“Offshore wind is a key enabler in the energy transition as it delivers large scale, consistent and reliable renewable energy that complements onshore wind and solar,” Flotation Energy Australia managing director Tim Sawyer said.

Environment groups also welcomed the announcements, saying offshore wind was a critical sector for the state’s transition away from coal-fired power.

“Establishing an offshore wind sector in Victoria will be critical for delivering the deep emissions cuts needed to avoid worsening climate impacts” said Friends of the Earth’s renewable energy spokesperson Pat Simons.

Gippsland and Portland are particularly attractive for offshore wind, with world-class wind speeds in terms of both strength and consistency, existing transmission infrastructure, a large area of shallow ocean — less than 50-60 metres deep — suitable for fixed-platform turbines; and ports that can support construction, operation, and maintenance requirements, according to the government’s offshore wind policy.

Victoria has committed to reducing its emissions by 2030 and reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.

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