Equinor has pulled out of the Australian Novocastrian Offshore Wind Farm project which was planned for a location about 20 kilometers offshore from off Newcastle.
It was partnered with Australian company Oceanex on the A$10 billion ($6.5 billion) floating wind project which was expected to generate 2,000MW for the Hunter region on Australia’s east coast.
Energy Minister Chris Bowen told ABC Radio Newcastle that Oceanex was too small to lead the project alone.
"Equinor is withdrawing from renewable investment around the world at the moment, from Vietnam, Portugal and Spain, so that's disappointing," he said.
In July, Blue Float Energy pulled out of a proposed A$10 billion offshore wind farm further south, off the Victorian coast.
The Australian Government is continuing to support the emerging offshore renewable industry, and on Friday released new guidance to help developers, researchers, scientists and other interested parties apply for research and demonstration licences in declared offshore zones.
Bowen says the Hunter offshore wind zone remains ripe for investment given their local workforce, experience with heavy industry, and large energy use.
Research and Demonstration licences will allow development and testing of offshore renewable energy technology, ensuring Australia is a home for renewable investment, innovation and development.
These projects might include using monitoring equipment such as special buoys to assess the feasibility of a region, or demonstration projects to investigate viability of new technology before applying for a feasibility licence to progress to a full commercial project.
Research and demonstration licences are proposed to last for 10 years and will be available across all six declared areas.
“These Research and demonstration licences are a big green light to domestic and international investors, signalling that Australia wants to be home to the next technological advance when it comes to offshore renewable development,” said Bowen.
“Our first priority for Australia’s offshore renewables areas is to deliver cleaner and cheaper energy, we know there’s a huge reserve of renewable resources on offer if we can develop the technology to harness it.
“Australian waters are the perfect place to research and develop these technologies, demonstrate their viability and work towards turning our clean energy potential into gigawatts of power.”