California-headquartered infrastructure firm AECOM has signed a contract with Star of the South to support the planning assessment and approvals process for the 2GW Star of the South offshore wind project in Australia.
AECOM will assist the developer in understanding and mitigating any potential impacts the project might have on the environment and the communities in Gippsland, Victoria.
Gippsland-based planning firm Ethos NRM Pty Ltd will support AECOM with the environmental assessments.
“The Star of the South, is a game changer for the renewable energy market in Victoria and will help to facilitate the transition to more sustainable energy sources,” said David Hyett, Director of AECOM’s environment team.
”Our team of planners, ecologists, social scientists and heritage specialists will help navigate the rigorous approvals process in a way that is sensitive to both the environment and the local community.”
The Star of the South project could comprise up to 250 turbines with a combined capacity of up to 2GW. If given the go-ahead, construction on the wind farm could start in 2020.
The project is a joint development by Australia’s Offshore Energy and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP).
The first set of offshore investigations at the 496km2 site located 8 to 13 kilometres off the Gippsland coast in Victoria started earlier this month.