Spanish company BlueFloat Energy has partnered up with Sydney-based Origin Energy to develop a 1.7GW project at Australia’s Hunter offshore wind zone.
The partners have already applied for a Feasibility License to develop the project dubbed Eastern Rise.
The partnership brings together BlueFloat Energy’s international technical capabilities in developing floating wind projects with Origin’s considerable Australian energy market experience.
The proposed project is located off the Hunter-Port Stephens coast and has the capacity to generate a little over 1.7GW of renewable electricity, the equivalent of powering approximately 825,000 homes.
“This is an exciting alliance, as Australia moves towards an energy future based around renewables especially from offshore wind production,” the partners said in a statement.
The Feasibility License application has been submitted in November and the Federal Government is expected to announce successful applicants next year.
The Hunter offshore wind zone, declared by the Australian government as suitable for such developments, is situated offshore New South Wales (NSW).
The declared Hunter area covers 1,854 square kilometers between the Central Coast and Port Stephens. It is located 20 km from the coast in the north and over 35 km from the coast in the south.
According to the government, the Hunter area has the potential to generate up to 5GW of renewable wind energy, enough to power an estimated 4.2 million homes.