The so-called Global Offshore Wind Alliance aims to collectively build at least 380 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2030,accelerating the expansion of the industry by sharing technical information and strategies to reduce the cost and financial risk of building new offshore wind farms.
Global Offshore Wind Alliance aims to collectively build at least 380 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2030.Getty
The total capacity of the electricity systems of the Australian east coast states was around 52 gigawatts last year.
Bowen said joining the organisation would help Australia catch up with its peers after regulations to allow the new industry to establish itself were delayed under the previous government.
“Australia is starting this industry from scratch and we stand to benefit from combining efforts with the Global Offshore Wind Alliance,” he said.
Kane Thornton,chief executive of the Clean Energy Council,which lobbies for the renewable energy sector in Australia,said the industry had been hobbled for years by previous governments’ failure to create regulations to allow it to establish itself in Australia.
The last budget included $1.5 billion to fast-track the development of offshore wind farms in Australia,and six regions have been proposed for development,including zones off the coast of parts of NSW and Victoria.
As part of a federal government goal to have 82 per cent of its power delivered by renewable energy,six regions have been proposed as suitable for offshore wind.
Thornton said the cost of offshore wind had dropped with the scale of new investment in Europe and Asia,and that consistent and powerful offshore winds complemented onshore wind and solar projects to provide more consistent renewable energy to the grid.
The agreement came after Bowen addressed the COP27,saying that Australia “is back as a constructive,positive,and willing climate collaborator.”
He called for reform of some of the world’s financial institutions,including the World Bank,saying that “our international financial architecture was built for a different time”. Bowen said there was a moral imperative for them to work with developing nations,many of which have been crying out for cheaper finance to help adapt to the warming world.
In the lead up to the talks,the World Bank was criticised over its climate spending and there were calls for its president,David Malpass,to resign over comments in which he appeared to question basic climate science.
However,shortly before Bowen’s speech,a group of scientific and climate organisations released their annual survey showing Australia ranking in the bottom 10 of how the governments of the top 60 greenhouse gas emitting nations are responding.
Australia’s overall ranking moved up four places in between from 59th (6th last ) to 55 (9th last),according to the Climate Change Performance Index report by international think tank Germanwatch,NewClimate Institute and CAN International.