Ørsted has completed geotechnical and geophysical investigations at two Gippsland offshore wind farm sites in Australia.
Using specialist vessels and equipment, the developer tested approximately 60 locations across its two feasibility licence areas by scanning and sampling the seabed in the Bass Strait off the Gippsland coast.
The data should help Ørsted understand the composition of the seabed and subsurface conditions, map the marine environment, inform the company’s project design (including turbine placement), and minimise environmental impacts.
In November 2024, the company awarded MMA Offshore a contract to gather and provide a set of subsea data in order to support future offshore wind developments in the region.
Ørsted also deployed devices to measure wind, weather, and ocean conditions in its licensed areas over the next two years.
The marine environmental baseline surveys for the firm’s Gippsland offshore wind project commenced last year.
Ørsted was one of the first companies to secure a feasibility licence for wind projects proposed to be built offshore Gippsland.
The project sites have the potential to generate a combined 4.8 GW of renewable energy (2.8 GW Gippsland 1 and 2 GW Gippsland 2), which could power the equivalent of four million Australian homes, according to the developer.
In March 2025, Australia’s Offshore Infrastructure Regulator (OIR) approved the feasibility stage management plan for the two offshore wind farms.
The management plan details how activities will be safely carried out in compliance with the Offshore Electricity Infrastructure Act (OEI Act).