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Released October 31, 2025 | GALWAY, IRELAND
Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)
Summary
Spain's Iberdrola (Bilbao, Spain) has submitted planning for a 3-gigawatt (GW) offshore windfarm in Victoria, Australia despite the state having delayed its first wind auction due to funding delays. Some developers have gotten cold feet in recent months and cancelled projects.
Spanish renewable energy major Iberdrola (Bilbao, Spain) has submitted planning for a 3-gigawatt (GW) offshore windfarm in Victoria, Australia.
The company is proposing to build the 150-turbine Aurora windfarm off the coast of Victoria in the south-east of the country which will cost more than US$5 billion to construct. Situated 25 kilometers (km) off the coast off Seaspray Beach in waters 40-40 meters deep, the windfarm will be capable of supplying enough power for up to 2.25 million homes. Industrial Info is tracking 250 proposed offshore wind projects in Australia worth a potential US$180 billion in investment. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Project Database can click here for the reports.
The proposed 20 megawatt (MW) turbines will be spread across a total area of 2,250 square kilometers in the Gippsland zone. The zone extends to 15,000 square kilometers where 10 offshore wind projects, including Aurora, have been awarded feasibility licences following a competition that attracted 37 project applications. Victoria is spearheading Australia's offshore wind ambitions and aims to be home to the nation's first offshore windfarm. It has a target of 2 GW of capacity by 2032, 4 GW by 2035 and 9 GW by 2040.
Difficult Time for Australian Offshore Wind
The decision comes at a time when Australia's budding offshore wind sector has suffered a number of setbacks in recent months. In September, the Victoria state government delayed launching its first ever offshore wind energy auction. Victoria energy minister, Lily D'Ambrosio, laid some of the blame on the Federal Government for failing to commit fully to offshore wind. "I am disappointed to announce that Victoria will be delaying the formal procurement process for our first offshore wind auction," said D'Ambrosio at an industry forum in Melbourne. Speaking to Renew Economy, she added: "For some context for the delay, we lost about 12 months from our original timelines because of delays that are outside our control as a state, including in issuing feasibility licenses and finalising regulations, and as a result of the original rejection of the Port of Hastings EPBC referral. In addition to that, we are very conscious of changes in the international market and supply chains that need to be factored into our planning." Dates for a new auction are promised before the end of the year.
Impact of Delayed Offshore Auction in Victoria
Last month, German developer RWE (Essen, Germany) announced the cancellation of its proposed 2 GW Kent offshore wind project in the Gippsland zone. In a statement, RWE said: "After close to a year of feasibility studies, RWE has made the considered decision to cease development of the Kent offshore wind project off the Gippsland coast in Victoria. This decision follows a review of the project's competitiveness in current market conditions, as well as ongoing uncertainties around supply chain costs and the future design of the auction framework." In July Blue Float Energy (Madrid, Spain) abandoned its planned 2 GW Gippsland Dawn offshore wind proposal, citing commercial viability. Origin Energy (Sydney, Australia) and Renewable Energy Systems (RES) (Kings Langley, England), the developers behind the 1.5 GW Navigator North project in Gippsland, announced that they would be ready for Victoria's first wind auction but pledged they will keep working on it towards the next auction.
Cold Feet in other Offshore Regions
Some major offshore wind projects in other Australian wind zones have also been axed. Norway's Equinor (Stavanger, Norway) pulled the plug on its planned 2 GW Novocastrian floating offshore windfarm it was developing in the Hunter Valley zone of south east Australia, citing a combination of "broader global challenges affecting the offshore wind industry and developers, and project-specific factors."
- Key Takeaways
- Iberdrola (Bilbao, Spain) has submitted planning for a 3-gigawatt (GW) offshore windfarm in Victoria, Australia.
- Delayed wind auction in Victoria has led to project cancellations
- Victoria is leading Australia's offshore wind charge with plans to add 2 GW of capacity by 2032, 4 GW by 2035 and 9 GW by 2040
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