Independent research should be a top priority in the national roll-out of offshore wind projects, scientists recommend in a new plan released last Friday.

Associate Professor Michelle Voyer, one of the leaders of the Blue Energy Futures Lab at the University of Wollongong (UOW), is a co-author of the Australian Marine Conservation Society's roadmap, titled Improving decision-making in relation to offshore wind.

“The aim was to understand where the scientific gaps are in our knowledge and how we can lobby government to ensure that we move forward with offshore wind in a way that is good for planet, people and nature,” Michelle said.

Released in the same week as Labor’s landslide federal election win delivered a vote of confidence for the renewable energy industry, the report has been six months in the making, involving about 20 scientists across different disciplines, the Biodiversity Council and the Australian Centre for Offshore Wind Energy (ACOWE), a university network including UOW.

“Our number one recommendation is that we need to get the framework in place to support ongoing independent scientific research,” Michelle said.

“What is absent at the moment is an ongoing sustainable mechanism to support that research to make sure a) it's funded and b) that the data is being collected in a way that's standardised and consistent, so that it can be compared across different regions and over time.

“It sounds really fundamental, but at the moment we don't even fully know who's doing what research where. There's very few mechanisms in place that allow the data to be shared across different institutions and different areas.”

Independent research finds common ground

Groups across the political spectrum found common ground in calls for independent research, even amid the polarising debate since the Illawarra’s wind zone consultation began in August 2023.

But companies are leading early research coming out of Gippsland, the first of Australia’s six offshore wind zones to be declared.

“Some proponents are doing a great job of sharing that information,” Michelle said. “Southerly Ten, for example, are doing work on monitoring of birds and whales, as well as geotechnical surveys.

“But that doesn't necessarily mean that every other industry proponent is going to do the same.”

Southerly Ten is using cutting-edge science to map the flight paths of migratory birds, information that could influence turbine height and designs, Michelle said, adding that three to five years of more “baseline research” lie ahead.

All up, the feasibility licensing phase could take seven years.

“The Illawarra zone progressing into feasibility licensing doesn’t mean that the farm will definitely happen.

"There's a lot of hoops that industry will have to jump through before it gets to the commercial license phase. They'll do their environmental impact assessments, they'll put forward their plan, that will go through community consultation, that will go through assessments by scientists, that will go through assessments by government, and then they have to apply for a commercial licence.”

4 key steps in roadmap

Michelle said she and her colleagues from UOW worked with AMCS and scientists from across Australia in creating the new roadmap. “We would like to use it to talk to government around how independent scientific research can be supported.”

Four immediate steps are:

• Establish a sustainable, long-term funding mechanism;
• Develop national data-sharing infrastructure;
• Resource First Nations communities;
• Foster meaningful community engagement.

To build trust and counter misinformation, the scientists support Local Energy Hubs – a concept that featured in a Crown St Mall demonstration last month – integrated with ocean literacy programs.

A key graphic in the report shows offshore wind’s potential impacts and benefits, which need to be considered in the broader context, Michelle said.

“So if you have a localised impact, say from the anchoring system – is that impact of concern at a broader population or ecosystem scale? Then, can it be mitigated? The science does actually point to lots of mitigation options for most impacts.”

Zone was on pause, progress expected

Former opposition leader Peter Dutton threatened to cancel the Illawarra’s wind zone if elected, but Labor has won a historic 'red wave' of 93 seats, including in all three Illawarra electorates: Cunningham, Whitlam and Gilmore.

“There was one licence application for a feasibility licence,” the re-elected Member of Cunningham, Alison Byrnes, said after polling day. “That was from BlueFloat, they asked the minister to pause that while the election was on, pending the outcome.”

Now that Chris Bowen has been reappointed as Minister for Climate Change and Energy, The Illawarra Flame understands progress is expected over the next month or so.

Locally, Michelle would like to focus on community engagement and discussions should start “straight away".

“Rather than framing this as a victory for one side and a loss for the other, I would really hope we could start to move forward in a more collaborative way," she said.

“One thing that I'm keen to advocate for is that some funding from community benefits should go back to local environmental restoration projects.”

Lord Mayor backs community benefits

Wollongong Lord Mayor Tania Brown said having a community benefits scheme is important.

“We also want to make sure that the right environmental conditions are in there, and we'll continue saying that to the Minister for Energy,” she told The Illawarra Flame. “At the end of the day, we have no formal role in the approval of this, but we will be advocating for our community.

“There is going to be a lot of rigour around all of this. And we want that. We want it done properly.”

Good for the Gong surveys locals  

Local association Good for the Gong is running a survey to find out what community benefits people want.

“Is it cheaper electricity, is it better transport infrastructure, that kind of thing,” said Good for the Gong volunteer Sophia Walter.

Sophia believes Labor’s landslide win sends a message about the energy transition: “Our community wants the government to get on with it.” 

She was not surprised by the result. “We’ve spoken to thousands of people about offshore wind and it's clear that most people support it or don't have a strong opinion,” Sophia said.

“Opponents to offshore wind tried to make their opposition into an election issue and resoundingly failed. I'm so glad people of the Illawarra have seen through the intensive disinformation being served to us.

“Now we as a community need to come together and be clear about what we want to get out of the offshore wind projects here – we want nature protected, we want local jobs, and we want world-leading benefits.”

Responsible Future will continue opposition

Local association Responsible Future Illawarra Chapter will not give up on its campaign to block projects in the Illawarra wind zone, which is at least 20km offshore, saying "it just doesn't make sense from a cost point of view".

The group's president, Alex O’Brien, told the Flame today that they will continue to oppose projects over the next seven years of the feasibility licensing phase. "This election was about cost of living and who offered the best relief," he said. "It definitely is not a mandate for offshore wind, and it does not discount the fact that we've still had 35,000 petitions and submissions that have opposed this project."

Alex supports calls for independent research. "A lot of the data is kept private, so we'd be calling for that data to be publicly available to allow other people to make their own determinations. The big thing as well for us is the funding of it should not come from the developers."

On May 4, the group shared a post liked by over 350 people on Facebook: “Now it’s time to rest. Recharge. Be proud. But stay ready. Because BlueFloat is next…” Four days later, Responsible Future issued a media release blaming Labor and pro-wind groups for “misleading" the public by not campaigning on renewables. “Now they’re trying to claim silence as support for offshore wind. But the numbers – and the community – say otherwise.”

Labor’s election win included a swing of 2.55 percent to Cunningham MP Alison Byrnes, a 1.9 percent swing against new Whitlam MP Carol Berry, who replaces Stephen Jones, and a 4.8 percent swing to Labor's Fiona Phillips, MP for Gilmore. 

Responsible Future – which was the subject of an ABC investigation after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was heckled about wind farms on a visit to the Illawarra in February – has been accused of ‘Trumpian style’ behaviour, which they deny. 

“We are not funded by the fossil fuel industry, or Trump or whoever else they may think is behind our movement," Alex told an April 7 candidates forum at Warilla Bowlo. On May 14, he again dismissed the claims as "completely false".

Get the facts

The Australian Marine Conservation Society supports a responsible transition to renewable energy, stating “Climate change caused by burning fossil fuels is the biggest threat facing Australia’s oceans.”

The society has published a fact sheet alongside its new offshore wind report tackling a common question: ‘Do wind farms kill whales?’ (Answer: There’s no evidence of this.) Associate Professor Michelle Voyer also recommends the Climate Council’s fact sheets and UOW’s Blue Energy Futures Lab's FAQs, which were last updated in December 2024.

This article was updated with additional comments on May 14.