Federal net zero investments concentrate in Victoria as clean energy transition accelerates

Victoria has emerged as the primary site of Australia's offshore wind energy ambitions, with three federal offshore wind areas declared in Victorian waters — off the Gippsland coast, the Port of Hastings, and Warrnambool — that could collectively generate more than 15,000 megawatts of electricity and position Victoria to become a net exporter of clean energy to the eastern Australian grid.

Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen confirmed the three Victorian zones as the most advanced in the national offshore wind framework, with two proponents having progressed through feasibility licences into project approvals and one large project expected to receive its Commonwealth environment approval in the next quarter. "Offshore wind will be to the 2030s what rooftop solar was to the 2010s — the technology that reshapes Australia's energy landscape," he said.

The offshore wind pipeline has generated significant manufacturing and supply chain activity in Melbourne and the Victorian regional cities. The Star of the South project, the most advanced in the Gippsland zone, has engaged 23 Victorian manufacturers to supply components for its planned first stage and has entered a preferred supplier arrangement with the Port of Hastings for the marshalling and assembly of turbine components.

Victorian Minister for Energy Lily D'Ambrosio said the offshore wind investments would transform the Gippsland economy over the coming decades, providing both direct employment and the energy required for advanced manufacturing to develop in the region as coal-fired generation wound down. "Offshore wind is Gippsland's economic future, and the federal government's approvals framework is the foundation that makes it possible," she said.

Melbourne's engineering and professional services sector is already capturing significant work from the offshore wind development phase, with multiple offshore wind projects represented in the client lists of several CBD engineering firms.

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