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- Increasing international collaboration
- Industry growth centres
- Industry Innovation and Science Australia
- National Measurement Institute
- Optical astronomy in Australia
- Participating in the digital economy
- Promoting innovation precincts
- Science in our department
- Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)
Energy
Resources
Northern Australia
Trade
Business support
Measurement services
Government to government services
- Regulations and standards
Emissions reduction
Energy
Resources
- Applying to export rough diamonds
- Applying to export uranium and controlled ores
- Offshore mineral exploration and mining
- Offshore oil and gas exploration and development
- Offshore petroleum exploration acreage release process
- Regulating offshore oil and gas in Australian Commonwealth waters
- Regulating the Ranger Uranium Mine
- Taxes and royalties on minerals and petroleum
Measurement
Trade
Space industry
Building industry
Business support
- Funding and incentives
Emissions reduction
Industry innovation and science
- Australian Square Kilometre Array Fellowships Programme
- Business Research and Innovation Initiative
- Business-research collaboration
- Collaborating with Asia-Pacific on science, research and innovation
- Collaborating with China on science and research
- Collaborating with India on science and research
- Cooperative research centres
- Enabling international space investment
- Industry 4.0
- Inspiring Australia: Science engagement in Australia
- International research collaboration
- Moon to Mars: opportunities for Australian businesses
- Prime Minister's Prizes for Science
- Research and Development Tax Incentive
- Supporting advanced manufacturing
- Supporting business and innovation
- Supporting space infrastructure growth
- Transitioning Australia’s automotive manufacturing industry
- Venture capital
Resources
- About us
COVID-19
Jobs
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- Our Ministers
- Our Executive team
- Organisation chart
- Our portfolio agencies
- Overseas engagement
- Anti-Dumping Commission
- Anti-Dumping Review Panel
- Australian Radioactive Waste Agency
- Australian SKA Office
- Australian Space Agency
- Critical Minerals Facilitation Office
- National Measurement Institute
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Offshore renewable energy
Offshore renewable energy includes offshore wind farms, wave and tidal power as well as emerging technologies like ocean thermal energy.
Developing the offshore renewable energy sector supports the Australian Government’s objective to deliver a reliable, secure and affordable energy system through:
- helping to grow new sources of energy supply
- providing clean and efficient technology
- ensuring the energy sector is well regulated
Offshore renewable energy generation can:
- offer large, year-round generation capacity
- provide benefits to the electricity network
- lessen visual impacts on the landscape, compared to other energy generation options
- establish new employment opportunities
- attract significant investment in Australia’s coastal economies
Developing a regulatory framework
Australia does not have legislation to support the full development of offshore renewable energy projects. Interest in offshore renewable energy projects in Australia is increasing as technology improves and costs reduce.
To enable future investment, the government is developing a regulatory framework. This will enable the construction, operation and decommissioning of offshore renewable energy projects.
The Minister with responsibility for energy matters will make all licensing decisions under the framework. This includes the granting of licences.
The government has proposed the National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA) will operate as the Offshore Energy Regulator and National Offshore Petroleum Titles Administrator (NOPTA) as the associated Registrar.
The government has committed $4.8 million dollars to delivering the regulatory framework. The funding supports:
- regulations
- policy
- regulatory functions
- initial licence application processes
It also includes funds for NOPSEMA and NOPTA it develop their new roles. It will provide separation from their existing cost-recovered functions.
The framework will also consider options to enable installation and protection of electricity transmission infrastructure. The framework will apply from 3 nautical miles from the coast out into Australia’s exclusive economic zone.
A broad range of industry sectors use our offshore areas, as well as public recreational use.
Consultation with maritime people is an important part of developing the regulatory framework. We formally consulted on the proposed regulatory framework early in 2020. Stakeholder feedback indicated overwhelming support to continue developing the regulatory framework.
Exploration licence
The government previously provided a deed of licence for an offshore wind farm project to facilitate exploration. This licence was issued prior to the regulatory framework now under development. Find out about the Star of the South.
The licence area is located in Australian Commonwealth waters about 8 to 13 kilometres off the Gippsland coast in Victoria. The licence is valid for 5 years with the potential to extend for another 2 years.
During the term of the licence, activities will include assessing wind resources and sea bed conditions. This assessment will inform a wind farm proposal.
Before exploration activity can commence, the licence requires:
- further approvals, including environmental approvals
- community and industry consultation
This licence doesn’t provide the right to construct or operate an offshore wind farm.
The proposed offshore renewable energy infrastructure legislation will leverage existing regulations to authorise early stage exploration activities. This includes the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
This approach avoids imposing any additional regulatory obligations.
It ensures other users of the marine area have an opportunity to comment on early exploration activities without additional regulatory burden. It also prioritises protecting the environment.
Activities that can commence without an offshore renewable energy infrastructure licence include exploration or feasibility activities such as:
- marine surveys
- ocean bottom sampling
- FLIDAR (Floating Light Detection and Ranging)
This means exploration or feasibility activities currently and in the future are capable of being performed. This is dependent on compliance with regulations in force at that time.
You can get involved by visiting the Star of the South consultation website.
Locations under exploration
Location | Co-ordinate system | |
---|---|---|
Decimal degrees |
Degrees, minutes, seconds |
|
A |
38.62077°S 147.025457°E |
38° 37ˈ14.7822ˈˈS 147° 1ˈ 31.6446ˈˈE |
B |
38.6903°S 147.151595°E |
38° 41ˈ 25.0908ˈˈS 147° 9ˈ 5.7414ˈˈE |
C |
38.873784°S 146.925725°E |
38° 52ˈ 25.6224ˈˈS 146° 55ˈ 32.6094ˈˈE |
D |
38.917482°S 146.829525037°E |
38° 55ˈ 2.9346ˈˈS 146° 49ˈ 46.2894ˈˈE |
E |
38.833380°S 146.736079278°E |
38° 50ˈ 0.1674ˈˈS 146° 44ˈ 9.8838ˈˈE |
Total area = 496 km2 |
View a map of the exploration licence on the Star of the South consultation website.
Read more
The government announced the approval of the exploration licence in March 2019.
Contact us
If you are interested in further details on the framework, upcoming consultation or how to participate in the scheme:
Last updated: 2 February 2021
Content ID: 67614