Guiding research for the sustainable development, operation, and decommissioning of offshore wind farms in Australia

Created 17/10/2025

Updated 17/10/2025

The development of Australia’s offshore renewable energy (ORE) industry can learn and benefit from decades of international experience and research. However, local knowledge of our unique receiving environment and the organisms that depend on it is critical for ensuring development minimises impacts on marine ecosystems. Long-term monitoring and adaptive management strategies that consistently evaluate and address environmental impacts of offshore wind farms will be necessary throughout the operational lifespan of ORE. This collaborative National Environmental Science Program project established an inventory of environmental and cultural data and best practice monitoring standards to support regulatory decision-making for ORE development for current proposed and declared areas: Hunter, Gippsland and Bass Strait, Illawarra, Southern Ocean and south-west Western Australia. We provide detail on 1) potential impacts of installation, operation, and decommissioning; 2) best practice standards for monitoring; 3) cultural and environmental values of Indigenous communities with links to development areas; 4) seabed geomorphology and habitat characterisation; potential interactions with oceanography and 5) the seasonality and distribution of interacting species. The inventory, which is available to the Government, proponents, and researchers, will improve the effectiveness of future research for the sustainable development of ORE in Australia.

Presented at the 2024 AMSA-NZMSS Conference Hobart Tas

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Field Value
Title Guiding research for the sustainable development, operation, and decommissioning of offshore wind farms in Australia
Language eng
Licence Not Specified
Landing Page https://data.gov.au/data/dataset/877a437b-3c3e-4868-b1ab-abdb6afe84ca
Contact Point
Geoscience Australia Data
clientservices@ga.gov.au
Reference Period 26/03/2024
Geospatial Coverage
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors
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Data Portal Geoscience Australia

Data Source

This dataset was originally found on Geoscience Australia "Guiding research for the sustainable development, operation, and decommissioning of offshore wind farms in Australia". Please visit the source to access the original metadata of the dataset:
https://ecat.ga.gov.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/csw/dataset/guiding-research-for-the-sustainable-development-operation-and-decommissioning-of-offshore-wind