Victoria Opens Australia's First Offshore Wind Auction for 2GW
Contracts for the initial Gippsland capacity are expected to be awarded in 2028
Victoria has launched Australia's first offshore wind auction, opening a request for proposals process for an initial 2GW of capacity off the Gippsland coast that the state believes can power about 1.5m homes.
The request for proposals phase runs for 12 months, from August 2026 to August 2027. After the auction closes, an extensive evaluation of bids will follow, with contracts for the first 2GW expected to be awarded in 2028.
Projects will be judged on value for money, deliverability, and benefits for local workers, businesses and communities.
The round is the first step towards Victoria's longer-term target of 9GW of offshore wind by 2040, with an interim goal of 4GW by 2035. Nine active project licences remain in the declared Gippsland offshore wind zone, with a combined proposed capacity of more than 20GW, though only a fraction will be supported under the initial auction.
The gap between licensed ambition and auctioned capacity sets the competitive terms. With more than 20GW of licensed proposals chasing 2GW of contracted offtake, the round will function as a filter rather than an allocation.
For the marine contracting sector, an Australian offshore wind pipeline creates a market that currently has no domestic installation fleet. Foundation installation, cable lay and turbine installation for Gippsland would draw on European and Asian vessel owners, with mobilisation distances and Australian coastal trading requirements shaping how that tonnage is contracted.
Gippsland's conditions are also demanding. The zone sits in Bass Strait waters exposed to Southern Ocean swell, which narrows weather windows for installation and raises the specification required of both installation vessels and the service operation vessels that follow them into the operational phase.
