By STEFAN BRADLEY
OFFSHORE wind industry and stakeholders came together in Sale to launch a new sector plan to guide Gippsland offshore wind development.
The region is set to play a leading role in Australia’s renewable energy future.
The event was led by the Gippsland Offshore Wind Alliance, which is a partnership between Committee for Gippsland, the Gippsland Climate Change Network (GCCN) and strategic partners. The alliance was first unveiled at the 2024 Gippsland New Energy Conference in Traralgon, with a mission to develop a roadmap to unlock the region’s offshore wind potential.
The Gippsland Offshore Wind Alliance said that throughout 2025, they worked collaboratively with industry, community representatives, regional leaders and Traditional Owners to develop what became the Gippsland Offshore Wind Sector Plan.
The plan was officially launched by Member for Eastern Victoria Region, Tom McIntosh.
The plan aims to set a clear, place-based framework to maximise economic, workforce, infrastructure and community benefits from offshore wind development in Gippsland, while supporting Australia’s clean energy transition and strengthening long-term energy security.
Committee for Gippsland Chief Executive, Tony Cantwell said the plan marks an important milestone in helping establish Gippsland as a leader in offshore wind energy.
“With the launch of this sector plan, we are sending a strong signal that we want an offshore industry in Gippsland,” he said.
“As one of the nation’s traditional power generating regions, it’s essential for our future and now is the time to take the next steps towards delivery.”
Gippsland Offshore Wind Alliance co-chair, Darren McCubbin said the development of an offshore wind industry presents a significant opportunity to support both emissions reduction and regional economic growth.
“We’re not starting from scratch, we have the resources, capability and community interest already in place, and this plan helps bring it all together,” Mr McCubbin said.
“It’s about turning potential into progress and ensuring Gippsland is ready to capture the economic, environmental and community benefits that come with a new energy industry.”
During his address, Mr Cantwell thanked Wellington Shire Council for its financial contributions that make the sector viable in the region.
Mr Cantwell told the Express that local events like this will lead to further conversations about offshore wind with the state and federal governments.
Gippsland is widely recognised as Australia’s most advanced offshore wind region, with nine active feasibility licences for projects off the Gippsland coast.
In 2025, BlueFloat Energy, RWE and AGL each dropped its plans to develop offshore wind projects in Gippsland, and the joint venture between Origin Energy and RES Australia was put on hold. The first offshore wind auction in Gippsland was delayed from September 2025 to August this year.
Asked if these setbacks affected the state government’s confidence in this new industry, Mr McIntosh told the Express “there’s always going to be multiple companies looking to tender for projects … there’s still many companies going through the process, and it’s really exciting”.
Erin Coldham, Chief Development Officer at Southerly Ten, developer of the Star of the South project, said the sector plan provides important direction for industry and investors.
A video shared by Southerly Ten emphasised local manufacturing capabilities for the offshore wind sector, in particular local steel use, with job opportunities for the Latrobe Valley.
In his speech, Mr McIntosh emphasised how important renewable energy and climate policy was to him.
“It’s a massive task for government to begin with, to even be able to get the policies in place that enable a transition like this to occur. The reason why this transition is so important is because we’re facing a change in climate,” he said.
“I joined the Labor Party the day after Tony Abbott was elected, because if we cast our minds back … that was an election that was fought largely over climate. And I joined because I wanted to see policies that would address climate change and ensure that we have – with my electrician background, I’ve worked in renewables as well – ensure that we have the policies that would see investment and political outcomes that would mean we can address what we need to provide affordable, abundant electricity in our state into the future.”
Mr McIntosh said it was important that people opposed to renewables can see that their neighbours, friends or family benefit from technology like rooftop solar and battery storage. He also mentioned the big projects and jobs out of renewable investments across Gippsland including in the Latrobe Valley and Bairnsdale.
He told the Express that people in his electorate were excited about the employment opportunities with offshore wind.
“I remember when I worked in a trade. I travelled all around Victoria, around Australia, chasing those really good opportunities for work. And because of the generational nature of this work, it gives people and their families the opportunity to establish themselves and know they can have a really good income (long term),” he said.
Mr McCubbin said that offshore wind in Australia was very new.
“Germany’s been doing offshore wind since 1991 and most of Europe is based on renewables, and they’re going gangbusters,” he said.
“Even in China, their renewable development is out of sight. But here in Australia, it’s very, very new, so we have to show proof of concept and that is the thing that community is rightly going ‘can we deliver this at scale?’, I believe we can.”
Mr McCubbin also pointed to other big projects in Gippsland such as Marinus Link, the SEC Delburn Wind Farm, the Fulham Solar Farm.
“We are seeing a rapid transformation into a renewable economy, and that brings jobs and growth in our region, because our biggest problem, Gippsland’s biggest problem, is that young people are leaving our region, going to Melbourne to get jobs,” he told the Express.
“And we want to make sure that there’s attractors back here to say, ‘come here, raise a family, join the local footy club or netball club and be part of this community’. And I believe that the renewable industry provides an economic activity, which means that we’ve got an attractor.”
You can read the plan here: https://gippslandnewenergy.com.au/get-involved/
