Iberdrola Australia proposes to develop, construct and operate Aurora Green, an offshore wind farm up to three gigawatts (3 GW) in capacity near Gippsland in Victoria. Aurora Green would consist of up to 150 wind turbines, developed in phases. Phase one would accommodate turbines with a generating capacity of between 15-25 MW each.

The offshore component (wind farm turbines and substation) of Aurora Green will be located in Commonwealth waters between Seaspray/The Honeysuckles and Woodside Beach, within the declared Gippsland Offshore Wind Area. The project will also involve a corridor for export cables from the wind turbines to the shore. Onshore, the export cables will run underground along a transmission corridor from the shore crossing point to a connection hub area determined by VicGrid at Giffard.

Aurora Green will be located at least 25 km from the shore, to minimise visual impact.

Key stakeholders of the Aurora Green project are:

Aurora Green is within Gunaikurnai Sea Country and Iberdrola Australia has entered into an historic Engagement Agreement with Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation (GLaWAC).

GLaWAC is actively involved in the discussions about Aurora Green. Working in genuine partnership with GLaWAC is key to ensuring our project delivers positive outcomes for Traditional Owners and Sea Country during development, construction, and for decades to come.

Iberdrola Australia was awarded a feasibility licence in July 2024 to undertake studies which will assess the site for offshore wind development. Consultation with stakeholders, early planning, environmental and geophysical surveys began in late 2024.

The feasibility and planning stage, including the environmental impact assessment and detailed project design, will take place throughout 2025 to 2029. If the relevant approvals are granted, we would hope to undertake construction from 2029 to 2032. The first phase of Aurora Green is expected to be operational from 2032.

This timeline is subject to feasibility, regulatory approvals and government-determined processes.

When built to full capacity across three phases, Aurora Green will consist of up to 150 next-generation wind turbines, each with a generating capacity of between 15-25 MW. Iberdrola Australia is in the early stages of planning and designing this project and the type of turbine foundation to be used will be determined once we have undertaken appropriate studies of the seabed (geotechnical) and metocean (wind, wave and climate) conditions.

Up to three offshore substations would be needed to connect the power from the wind turbines (via inter-array cables up to 132 kV) to the export transmission cables (up to 330 kV).

An onshore substation, situated at VicGrid’s connection hub site at Giffard, would also be required to step up the transmission voltage and transport power to the electricity grid via the connection hub.

VicGrid is developing a shared transmission line from its connection hub to the Latrobe Valley, to connect offshore wind energy generated off the Gippsland coast to the grid.

Iberdrola Australia delivers reliable energy to customers through a portfolio of wind and solar capacity across New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria, and Western Australia. Iberdrola Australia also owns and operates a portfolio of firming capacity, including open cycle gas turbines, dual fuel peaking capacity, and battery storage. Our development pipeline has projects at differing stages of development covering wind, solar and batteries.

Iberdrola Australia has corporate offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, with the Aurora Green team based both in Gippsland and across the corporate offices.

Iberdrola Australia is part of the global Iberdrola Group. With more than 120 years of history, Iberdrola is a global energy leader, the world’s number-one producer of wind power, an operator of large-scale transmission and distribution assets in three continents making it one of the world's biggest electricity utilities by market capitalisation. 

The Iberdrola Group is a pioneer in developing the offshore wind industry across many markets, including in the US, the UK and Europe, with 2.3 GW in operation at the end of 2024 and plans to increase offshore wind capacity to 6.5 GW by 2030.

Iberdrola Australia has developed projects throughout the country. To see an interactive map of Iberdrola Australia’s assets, visit Interactive Asset Map.

Aurora Green will require Commonwealth approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) and the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021 (OEI Act). State approvals will be required under the Victorian Planning and Environment Act 1987, consent under the Victorian Marine and Coastal Act 2019 and approval of a Cultural Heritage Management Plan under the Victorian Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006. Other statutory and non-statutory approvals may also be needed.

Iberdrola Australia is undertaking the required environmental, technical studies and impact assessments through 2025 to 2029.

Offshore wind development has the potential to impact marine mammals, primarily via:

• Underwater noise (geophysical and geotechnical surveys in the site assessment phase, and the installation of turbine foundations during construction)
• Vessel movements

The Aurora Green project will need to undergo environmental assessments which will evaluate measures to avoid, minimise and mitigate the potential impact on marine mammals.

As we were recently awarded a feasibility licence in Australia we have only just begun our environmental study work to help us understand the potential impacts to marine life from our proposed project. Once potential impacts are assessed we will share this information as part of the approvals and consultation process.

For more information on whales and offshore wind energy visit: Clean Energy Council: Whales and offshore wind energy

Iberdrola is making conscious efforts to minimise the potential environmental impacts of our projects, globally and locally. To learn more about the conservation of marine life at our offshore wind farms visit: Protection of marine biodiversity at wind farms - Iberdrola

We are undertaking environmental studies to help us understand the movements of birds in the project area and predict the impact our project might have on them. These studies will form part of our environmental assessments.

Iberdrola is committed to avoiding and minimising potential environmental and marine life impacts.

In our offshore projects overseas we have implemented a number of initiatives to preserve biodiversity in windfarms and mitigate various effects, such as noise and displacement.

This includes, for example, limiting sound-generating activities to times of reduced likelihood of marine mammal presence in an area (e.g. during the time of year when marine mammals are less abundant in an area), reducing sound and light emissions, or mitigating risk of vessel strikes (e.g. reducing vessel activity at certain times of the year).

In the case of seabirds, we’ve implemented measures such as building artificial structures to act as nesting sites, installing monitoring equipment, and introducing vessel traffic protocols during sensitive periods.

More information can be found here: Protection of marine biodiversity at wind farms - Iberdrola

Iberdrola Australia acknowledges that the site proposed for Aurora Green is located within a commercial fishing region, and that commercial fishers have concerns about potential impacts on their operations. We consider commercial fishers a key stakeholder as we develop Aurora Green and are working with the fishing industry to understand more about their operations and explore co-existence opportunities.

We have commissioned a Commercial Fisheries Study for our licence area, developed a Fishing Engagement Strategy, and are working with the Lakes Entrance Fishermans Co-Op, South East Trawl Fishing Industry Association and Seafood Industry Victoria on engaging with fishers.

We are seeking to engage with recreational fishers’ associations to understand more about their practices and how they might be impacted and/or benefit from our proposed offshore wind farm.

At offshore wind farms around the world, often recreational fishing can continue alongside an operational wind farm and the structures can act as artificial reefs.

The Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act 2021 (OEI Act) provides for safety and protection zones to be established in and around offshore renewable energy projects.

A safety zone can prohibit vessels from entering a specified area for a period of time, such as during construction of a wind farm, to minimise risks to the safety of workers and to other users of the marine environment.

A protection zone can prohibit or restrict vessels from conducting certain types of activities which may result in risks to safety or damage to offshore renewable energy infrastructure or offshore electricity transmission infrastructure.

The details and duration of safety and protection zones will be determined on a project-by-project basis with the Offshore Infrastructure Regulator (OIR). The OIR will seek to ensure that offshore infrastructure is appropriately protected without unreasonably restricting the movements of transiting vessels in accordance with international obligations. Safety and protection zones can only come into effect at the commencement of installation activities.

Licence holders, such as Iberdrola Australia, will be expected to carry-out appropriate consultation with potentially impacted marine users in the course of preparing safety and protection zone applications.

We anticipate there will be safety exclusions in place around wind turbines and the offshore substations, however we need to first understand more from recreational boat users about their routes and requirements.

Our licence area does not overlap with any major shipping routes.

Energy generated by the offshore wind turbines will be carried by a series of inter array cables to an offshore substation. Export cables will run underground from the offshore substation, under the beach and sand dunes, to the mainland. The underground (export) cable will connect to VicGrid’s connection hub at Giffard, from where the electricity will be transmitted and distributed into the grid to power homes and businesses.

Transmission coordination is being undertaken by VicGrid. For more information visit: FAQ - Offshore Wind Transmission in Victoria

The number of onshore landing points and routes to the connection hub at Giffard will be determined by VicGrid's coordination of connections.

We are considering horizontal directional drilling (HDD) for the shore crossing, however more detailed analysis of the site conditions needs to be carried out before this can be confirmed. If a trenched option is possible and avoids environmental and cultural heritage impacts, it could be considered.

We are starting our technical studies around this. The cable depth will be determined following topographical, soil condition, geotechnical and environmental studies.

We’re currently assessing markets across the world and will prioritise local content wherever possible.

Iberdrola Australia considers that a multi-port solution will be needed for construction of Aurora Green, with options including but not limited to Port of Hastings, Geelong Port and/or Port of Bell Bay.

For operations and maintenance, our current assumption is that Barry Beach Terminal in South Gippsland will be used.

Workers are likely to be accommodated close to the port/s where construction and operations and maintenance will be carried out.

Iberdrola Australia forecasts creation of more than 1800 jobs during construction.

Iberdrola Australia expects much of the workforce for the construction phase of the project to be Victorian based, although we do recognise some specialised jobs and skills will need to be sourced from interstate and internationally.

The project’s operations and maintenance will be localised to the Gippsland region.

In general terms we believe the Aurora Green Offshore Wind Project will create more than 1800 jobs during construction and around 600 long-lasting skilled jobs during operations across the supply chain.

We expect more than $8 billion in expenditure will go into the local (Australian) economy, with a significant spend in the Gippsland region throughout the project's lifecycle.

We are still in the process of understanding how we will frame our community benefits scheme for the Aurora Green project, as well as how it may have to interact with the Victorian government’s own plans for its Renewable Energy Zone Community Energy Fund.

In the meantime, Gippsland local community sponsorship requests with a maximum of up to $5,000 per application can be submitted throughout the year for 2025 and 2026. To submit an application visit: Community Funds and Sponsorships

There is currently limited established supply chain for major offshore component fabrication, however throughout the project development phase we will be assessing the Australian skilled workforce and industry capability to determine its suitability to complement global manufacturing.

With a high level of technical and professional services available in the Gippsland region, Iberdrola Australia recognises there is a sizeable opportunity to retrain local personnel transitioning from declining sectors.

Aurora Green will be situated at least 25 km from the nearest coastline from Seaspray/The Honeysuckles to Woodside Beach to minimise visual impact from land. It will be situated at least 33 km from Golden Beach.

A preliminary landscape and visual impact appraisal has been completed for the project, including an assessment of the magnitude of visibility. This assessment anticipates that while Aurora Green’s turbines will be visible from some sections of the Ninety Mile Beach, they will play a minor role in the view due to their great distance offshore.

The exact height of each turbine will be determined by the depth of the seabed, as well as the technology available at the time of construction. Current technology turbines range from approximately 260 to 340 metres from the tip of the blade extended at its greatest vertical height to the surface level of the ocean.

Up to 150 turbines could be constructed within the Aurora Green feasibility licence area if all project phases are developed.

Energy generation from the Aurora Green wind farm is expected from 2032 and will have an operational life of around 30 years, after which the project will be decommissioned (and the site rehabilitated) or repowered. During the feasibility phase we will explore options associated with decommissioning and rehabilitation, as well as repowering of the site (where new offshore wind turbines could be erected).

The lifespan of a wind turbine is around 25 years, but this can be extended to 30. Most of its components are recyclable, although the challenge lies in recycling the wind blades efficiently. For more information visit: Wind blade recycling, a new challenge for wind energy - Iberdrola

As the world’s larger producer of wind energy, Iberdrola is leading the way by committing to recycling all our wind turbine blades from 2030 and plan to buy blades made from recycled material.

Globally, with Iberdrola’s first onshore wind farms approaching their end of life, we are partnering with industrial waste management and by-product recovery company FCC to create EnergyLOOP in Europe, which will recover and reuse wind turbine blade components.