Abstract
Australia has set an ambitious goal of attaining 82% of its electricity generation from renewable energy sources by 2030, with offshore wind energy expected to play a pivotal role in achieving this target. Australia has identified six priority offshore wind areas, with two officially announced, three in the proposal stage, and one under assessment. Establishing a reliable and resilient supply chain is paramount to developing Australia’s offshore wind farms. This paper focuses on offshore wind development in Tasmania, an island State of Australia. The purpose of the paper is to provide a preliminary evaluation of the offshore wind supply chain. Key variables integrated into the evaluation model encompass the offshore wind targets, the installed power capacity of individual turbines, international supply chain constraints, port capacity, vessel availability, and workforce considerations. This paper firstly assesses the demand for components of Tasmanian offshore wind projects based on the baseline and ambitious targets. Subsequently, it examines the corresponding demands and requirements for ports, vessels, and workforce. The paper also discusses the supply chain for Tasmanian offshore wind farm development and concludes with the opportunities and challenges for the future development of Tasmania’s offshore wind industry.
