Project update - March 2025
31 March
Offshore wind days held around Gippsland
We recently visited Port Albert, Golden Beach, Sale and Leongatha to share project information at Gippsland ‘Offshore Wind Days’.
More than 200 community members got along to these events, which were hosted by Gippsland-based offshore wind projects and government agencies Offshore Wind Energy Victoria and VicGrid.
Some key topics of discussion included:
Project timing and next steps
Jobs in offshore wind
Protecting the environment
How the wind farm would look from the coast
Local business opportunities
Fishing in an offshore wind farm.
Didn't make it? Find out how to reach us and get involved here.
Supporting local events
The Tarra Festival is coming up over the Easter long weekend, and we’re excited to be involved again this year. There is a full program of fun family events planned, including a parade, entertainment and markets in Yarram and Port Albert. Find us at ‘Cultivating Communities’ in Yarram on Friday 18 April.
We also attended the Toora Triathlon and Family Fun Day this month to participate and chat with locals about our projects. Despite the wild wintery conditions, over 60 locals ran, swam and rode around Toora – including our very own Gippsland team members who narrowly missed out on placing.
Our Gippsland team members Paul, Jason and Stella completed the Toora Triathlon
Nature-sensitive design, based on science
After studying bird life in the Star of the South area for three years, scientific data collected is now being used to inform the project’s design and planning.
Researchers studied seabirds between 2020-2023 using boat surveys, aerial surveys, GPS tagging to map bird movements and flight heights, colony bio-logging, population counts and more.
Using the findings from these studies, we’ve adjusted the project design to add more space between the water and the bottom tip of the turbine blades to provide a safe area where birds can continue to fly and forage for food.
We’ll continue looking at other ways to protect birds and marine life during the project’s construction and 30-years of operations as we work to finalise Star of the South’s environmental assessments this year.
Investing in Gippsland
We make it a priority to buy local, hire local, and support locals doing great work in the community.
So far, we’ve spent almost $5 million in Gippsland - with a further $3 billion in local spend expected over the life of the project.
We love being part of the Gippsland community and are committed to seeing local communities better off with us as a neighbour.
Students explore renewable energy in Gippsland
We welcomed The University of Melbourne’s Students in Renewable Energy Club to our Yarram office last week to talk all things offshore wind.
The students are studying different disciplines - from engineering to environmental science - but all share a passion for renewable energy.
Their Gippsland visit also included stops at the Toora Wind Farm and the Gippsland Offshore Wind Day in Leongatha.
It was inspiring to see their enthusiasm about our energy future and interest in future offshore wind jobs - the future is in good hands.
Students visited the Leongatha Offshore Wind Day
Did you know?
Offshore wind turbines capture strong ocean winds to produce clean, reliable electricity above the water, while below the surface, turbine foundations function as artificial reefs.
These foundations can provide new habitats and food sources for marine life, helping to boost fish stocks and enhance biodiversity within offshore wind farms.
Supplier profile: Undersea Marine Australia
We’ve been visiting local suppliers - including Undersea Marine Australia (UMA), where we toured their largest vessel 'Bass Trek'.
UMA is a Lakes Entrance-based business that has been providing underwater marine and subsea services for more than 30 years, including playing a key role in site investigations offshore for Star of the South.
The Bass Trek was used to complete a variety of our environmental surveys, including acoustic monitoring, benthic ecology studies, and sea bird tagging.
Undersea Marine Australia can be found on page 44 of the Offshore Wind Supplier Showcase.
Paul chatting with skipper Dean on board the Bass Trek