A company seeking to build one of Australia’s first offshore wind farms is suing Australian Energy Minister Chris Bowen over the decision not to grant the company a licence to carry out the project.
Flotation Energy had proposed building the Seadragon wind farm off the coast of Gippsland in Victoria, with up to 150 wind turbines and a network of submarine cables.
In a decision last year, the minister rejected the company’s application for a license that would have allowed it to proceed with the feasibility study of the project.
Court documents seen by AAP on Thursday show that the decision not to grant the licence also referred to an “overlapping” project where Seadragon was considered less valuable.
In response, Seadragon requested a feasibility licence for a smaller area to avoid overlap, but the Minister refused this request.
In an application filed in the Federal Court in June, Seadragon’s lawyers argued that the minister had made the incorrect assumption that he did not have the authority to grant a feasibility licence for anything other than the entire proposed licence area.
On behalf of Seadragon, they are calling on the Minister to reverse his decision and reconsider granting a feasibility permit for a smaller area.
The proposed Seadragon project involves wind turbine generators on fixed foundations that will be installed 20 to 40 kilometres off Ninety Mile Beach between Paradise Beach and McGaurans Beach in Bass Strait.
The timetable offered for the project envisaged construction starting in 2028 and expected commissioning in 2030.
In 2022, Victoria’s then Planning Minister Richard Wynne required the company to prepare an environmental impact statement to assess the project’s potential environmental impacts.
At the time, he raised concerns about threatened aquatic species, impacts on the terrestrial, marine and freshwater environment, Aboriginal cultural heritage values, and scenic and visual appeal.
A spokeswoman for Mr Bowen declined to comment because the matter is before the courts.