February 2025 Update

The Albanese Government is paving the way for energy and job security in a region that has helped to power Australia for generations, with next steps announced for the Hunter offshore wind zone.

This industry represents a huge opportunity for regional Australia, providing reliable renewables to power homes and heavy industry while creating highly skilled and well-paid jobs.

Offshore wind in the Hunter could support future onshore manufacturing, as it builds on the local industrial expertise and infrastructure.

Novocastrian Wind, a partnership between Equinor and Oceanex Energy, has been offered a feasibility licence to explore its planned offshore windfarm project for the Hunter offshore zone.

This finalises the Government’s previous preliminary decision to grant a licence to Novocastrian Wind, but not to any other applicants in the Hunter zone.

The project is located a minimum 38 kilometres off the coast of Newcastle and has the potential to deliver 2 gigawatts of renewable electricity - enough to power more than a million homes.

The project has the potential to create hundreds of well-paid, ongoing jobs for workers, including engineers, technicians and divers, as well as new opportunities for suppliers and surrounding industry.

To ensure communities and businesses across the Hunter benefit from the new offshore wind industry, Novocastrian Wind is required to maximise its use of local supply chains, industries and workers.

A newly established Hunter Wind Industry Committee – comprising Novocastrian Wind, NSW and local governments, First Nations groups, local industry and workers’ representatives – will work together to maximise economic and social benefits.

This reflects how the Government is ensuring the project includes as much local content as possible, delivering benefits for workers, industries and the region’s economy.

The licence holder must consult further with the community and undertake environmental assessments as part of the feasibility studies supporting their offshore wind project. In addition, they are required by law to consult with the fishing industry and avoid, mitigate and offset any impacts on fishing.

The feasibility licence is granted for up to 7 years and Novocastrian Wind must use this time to obtain all necessary approvals, including working through environmental assessments and approvals, before it can apply for a commercial licence to allow construction to begin.

Should the project go ahead, it would employ around 3,000 workers during construction and create around 200-300 permanent local jobs. It would inject development expenditure worth hundreds of millions of dollars into the Hunter region and leverage existing heavy industry.  

This offshore wind zone being in a heartland of heavy industry, will support future onshore manufacturing and energy security in NSW for decades to come.

The strong, consistent winds off the coast, along with the region’s skilled energy and manufacturing workforce, make the Hunter an ideal location for an offshore wind industry.

More information

The instrument giving effect to the declaration, the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure (Declared Area OEI-01-2023) Declaration 2023, is available on the Federal Register of Legislation.

The declaration followed consultation with local communities, state and local government representatives, First Nations people, existing industries including shipping, defence, fishing, and other marine users.

This declaration will help enable Australia's energy transition towards renewable power and cleaner, cheaper, and more secure energy. It will Australia reach net zero by 2050.

By declaring the area, the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen is identifying where more environmental studies and animal surveys needed to inform future development options.

The announcement is part of the government's Rewiring the Nation plan. The plan is designed to ramp up renewable generation, place downward pressure on energy bills, and put Australia on track to becoming a renewable energy superpower.

A shapefile representing the Declared Area (ZIP 9 KB) is available for download. This shapefile is provided for illustrative and explanatory purposes only and must be used with the GDA94 geocentric data set. The Declared Area is the area made up of the areas specified in Schedule 1 of the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure (Declared Area OEI-01-2023) Declaration 2023.

Feasibility Licence applications will open for proposed projects within the declared area from 8 August 2023 to 14 November 2023.