Australia’s first ever auction for offshore wind generation capacity is finally underway, after the Victorian Labor government officially opened the Request for Proposal process for the state’s first two gigawatts (GW) of projects.
The launch of the long awaited auction process was announced with little fanfare on Wednesday morning, with just six days left to meet the August deadline set by a premier and energy minister both since departed – and just three months ahead of what promises to be a very tough state election for Labor.
New energy minister Jaclyn Symes says offshore wind projects can now bid for contracts and will be assessed on value for money, deliverability and benefits for local workers, businesses and communities.
Symes says contracts are “expected” to be integrated into the national Electricity Services Entry Mechanism (ESEM) – the successor to the Capacity Investment Scheme, the details of which are still being fleshed out by AusEnergy Services Limited (ASL) and a working group of developers and government agencies.
The already delayed auction is designed to provide financial support to up to 2 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind capacity – an amount likely to be supplied by just one project – which the state government wants to be in place by 2032.
