Wpd joins Australis to co-develop 1.4 GW of Aussie offshore wind

The Australian subsidiary of German group Wpd has formed a 50/50 joint venture with Australis Energy Ltd to develop three offshore wind projects with a total installed capacity of 1.4 GW.

Wpd Offshore Australia Holding GmbH will thus be involved in the realisation of projects in the coastal waters of the states of Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.

According to the announcement, Australis has been working on the three schemes over the past years and has already concluded their first two phases. It will rely on the assistance of Wpd for Phase 3, the completion of environmental studies and environmental impact assessments (ESIA), for further data collection, the signing of landowner and grid access deals, as well as for planning, permitting and licensing.

"With the investment opportunity offered by Australis Energy to participate in the further development of their Australian offshore wind project portfolio, we have the chance to work with one of the first project developers to start systematically developing offshore wind projects in Australia,” commented Mirjam Tome, Project Development Director of Wpd Australia.

Wpd is currently executing the 640-MW Yunlin wind project off the coast of Taiwan. Last month, the German group announced it had agreed to divest its offshore wind operations to New York-based fund manager Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).

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