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The developers behind the Novocastrian floating wind farm have decided not to accept the feasibility licence offered by the Australian government for their up to 2 GW project in the Hunter offshore wind zone.
The floating offshore wind farm was being developed by Norway’s energy company Equinor and Oceanex.
The plans for the project were announced by Oceanex in 2020, with the federal government granting the feasibility licence in February 2025.
The wind farm included the use of floating foundations in a 500-square-kilometre licence area, and was expected to create more than 3,000 jobs during construction.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen said in an interview that Equinor and Oceanex could not agree to move forward with the project. He said that the Norwegian energy giant is withdrawing from projects in Vietnam, Portugal, and Spain.
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Bowen added that Oceanex was interested in moving forward with the Novocastrian floating wind farm, “but they are too small to undertake such a big project alone “.
“They don’t have the access to the capital. They are experts in their field. They would be the first to say this is too big just for them. They need a partner and frankly, an international partner, given there’s no offshore wind being built in Australia yet, it is quite common around the world, and so they’re not able to proceed without that partner. But their interest and hopes for the Hunter is undiminished,” Bowen said.