Australia Grants Permits for Three Offshore Wind Schemes
January 23, 2026
Australia has offered three offshore wind licenses to projects off the southern coast of Western Australia that could add 4 gigawatts of clean energy into the state's isolated power system, the government said on Friday.
The offer comes after several other offshore wind projects on the east coast of Australia were pulled in the past 18 months, dragging on the sector's momentum.
Underlining the struggles to transition to cleaner energy, the state extended a subsidy to keep a coal mine alive by an additional five years based on energy security concerns.
Two final feasibility licenses were awarded to Bunbury Offshore Wind, backed by the French government’s EDF, and one more to Westward Wind, backed by Spain's EDP Renewables and France’s Engie. They mark a first step to offshore wind development.
"As well as providing reliable, renewable electricity throughout the day, offshore wind can keep generating into the evening, harnessing the consistent, high-speed winds of the Australian coastline,” Energy and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen said.
Australia has a target for 82% of the country's electricity supply to come from renewable sources by 2030 and a plan to lower emissions by 43% from 2005 levels by the same year. Government data has suggested the first target is lagging but the second is close to being met.
The minister also opened applications for research and demonstration licenses for proponents to trial and test new offshore technology.
AGL Energy and partners walked away from the 2.6 gigawatt Gippsland Skies project offshore Victoria in southeast Australia in early December, the last in a series of departures in the sector after costs and technical challenges became greater than expected for many developers.
Its peer Origin Energy also put its own offshore wind project on hold earlier in 2025 and this week announced a two-year life extension to its coal fired power plant Eraring, the largest in Australia.
(Reuters - Reporting by Helen Clark: Editing by Neil Fullick)
