November 6, 2023
Bass Strait is a small stretch of water with a big claim to fame – it’s arguably got the world’s best wind resource for offshore turbines, consistently blowing at the sweet spot for optimal operations. For context, the UK has one of the most mature offshore wind industries, where wind speeds allow for peak turbine performance on average 40% of the time. North-east Bass Strait gets a stiff 25-40 knots more than 60% of the time, literally making it a potential powerhouse.
That’s why we’re so stoked that the Australian Government has announced an offshore wind consultation zone off the north coast of Tasmania.
While there’s a lot of work to do now to find the right development sites within that zone, our Engineering Director Sean Van Steel jumped on ABC radio to explain why the Bass Strait wind resource is just so special, how we might go about harnessing it, the community, environmental and industrial factors to consider, and how the fledgling Australian industry can learn from global markets to more quickly become cost competitive.
