This webinar explores Victoria's emerging offshore wind industry, examining the state's policy and investment framework, Gippsland's regional development opportunities, community expectations, and lessons from established offshore wind markets in Europe.

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1. Victoria's Offshore Wind Roadmap & Investment Framework

OWEV Acting Executive Director Felicity Sands outlined Victoria's offshore wind roadmap, targeting 9GW of sovereign renewable energy capacity. The inaugural 2GW Request for Proposal (RFP) is open for 12 months, with Contracts for Difference (CfD) and Availability Payment mechanisms designed to provide investor revenue certainty. The Victorian Government is also working with the Port of Hastings to help mitigate development risks. With a minimum 80% local content requirement for project operations and maintenance, the first 2GW projects are positioned as a foundation for building a long-term, locally anchored offshore wind industry through international collaboration and supply-chain partnerships.

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2. Gippsland's Shared Transmission & Regional Opportunity

VicGrid CEO Alistair Parker presented Gippsland's shared transmission model for the first 2GW of offshore wind. The approach aims to avoid duplicated private infrastructure, unnecessary cost escalation and additional community disruption as the Latrobe Valley transitions from coal generation while electricity demand grows across residential, transport, industrial and data centre sectors. Shaped through consultation with stakeholders, Traditional Owners and landholders, the project is targeting early works from 2027, followed by construction and commissioning between 2028 and 2032. Transparent governance, First Nations engagement and “True Local” procurement are intended to strengthen regional participation and economic benefits.

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3. Building Gippsland's Social Licence

Gippsland Climate Change Network CEO Darren McCubbin highlighted the importance of earning and maintaining community social licence in a region of approximately 310,000 residents. Drawing on the Star of the South project as an example of sustained developer engagement, he emphasised the need for genuine two-way dialogue and meaningful local involvement in decision-making. Regional priorities include workforce retraining, clean-energy training infrastructure and port upgrades to ensure offshore wind development delivers tangible long-term benefits for Gippsland.​

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4. International Lessons from Germany

German-Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry expert Goeran Sell shared lessons from Borkum Island's energy transformation, emphasising that offshore wind investment does not automatically translate into regional economic development. Germany’s offshore wind expansion was driven by the post-Fukushima nuclear phase-out and broader European energy-security priorities, while regional value creation depended heavily on existing industrial capabilities and supply-chain strengths. For Gippsland, he recommended adapting relevant European frameworks rather than simply replicating overseas models, while identifying potential Australia-EU collaboration opportunities in green hydrogen and green metals.

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5. Star of the South: Offshore Wind at Scale

Star of the South CEO Charles Rattray presented the 2.2GW Star of the South project, which is expected to generate enough electricity to power approximately 1.2 million Australian homes, deliver an estimated $8 billion in national economic benefits, and create around 200 permanent local operational roles. With Australia's electricity demand projected to reach approximately 400TWh by 2050, requiring a substantial expansion of renewable generation, he highlighted offshore wind's potential system-cost advantages, including an estimated $15/MWh saving and a requirement for approximately 60km of new transmission for the project. After 7-8 years of development, Star of the South demonstrates how offshore wind can form part of a diversified renewable energy system alongside onshore generation and transmission investment.

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6. Lessons from the Netherlands: De-risking Offshore Wind

Dutch RVO expert Geert Harm Boerhave traced the Netherlands' 15-year offshore wind journey, from high-risk, subsidy-dependent private projects before 2013 to a more government-led de-risking framework. Policy reforms helped reduce project costs and contributed to the emergence of zero-subsidy auctions from 2017 onwards. Modern tender processes increasingly assess projects against multiple criteria covering sustainability, quality and delivery, while evolving Contracts for Difference policies aim to provide greater long-term investment stability.

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Key Takeaway

The webinar demonstrates that Victoria's offshore wind opportunity extends beyond generation capacity. Success will depend on creating an investable policy framework, coordinated transmission infrastructure, meaningful regional participation, strong local supply chains and sustained community engagement. International experience from Germany and the Netherlands offers valuable reference points, while Gippsland provides an opportunity to develop an offshore wind model tailored to Australia's energy, industrial and regional context.