Southern Ocean region off Victoria, declared offshore wind area

> Countrywide Hydrogen is developing a renewable hydrogen production facility at Portland in two stages, thei first to supply domestic demand in Victoria and South Australia, and the second to expand the project to export hydrogen or hydrogen derivatives in colaboration with identified Korean offtakers.
> Offshore wind is a secure and reliable form of renewable energy that can play a key role in assisting with Australia’s clean energy transition.
> Alcoa's smelter at Portland has a goal of producing green aluminium to meet its customers' demands. Wind power from a large-scale offshore wind farm can replace the coal fired electricity the smelter currently uses for aluminium production and green hydrogen can replace the smelter's natural gas consumed.
> Offshore wind farms like the Spinifex Offshore Wind Farm will play a role in Australia achieving its renewable energy targets. The Spinifex project alone could generate enough clean energy to power over 650,000 Victorian homes annually.
> Offshore wind can provide energy when solar power and onshore wind are not available. This is important as it increases the different types of energy sources that we can rely on.
> More offshore wind will help address the climate change and protect our planet for our future generations.
> The environmental benefits of offshore wind have been demonstrated by similar projects overseas.
> Offshore wind projects in the declared area will need to undertake detailed environmental surveys and monitoring of the marine ecosystem over time. This will boost our collective understanding of marine life and ecosystems in the area.
> The Government will undertake an extensive and rigorous assessment of each project, under specific environmental legislation, before granting approval.
> Establsihing an offshore wind farm at Portland will support the closure of fossil fuel power stations in Victoria.

> The Portland region can benefit from an offshore wind industry because it has existing port infrastructure and a workforce skilled in heavy fabrication, marine services and onshore wind.
> The Spinifex Offshore Wind Farm has conducted local supply chain and industry development studies which have found that an offshore wind project could create over 1700 jobs during construction and 350 ongoing jobs during operation. In addition to this employment will be additional jobs associated with our hydrogen project in Stage 2 construction and operation.
> The Portland Aluminium Smelter is a vital source of local employment. Offshore wind energy could supply this important source of employment with clean, secure, and reliable energy.
> Offshore wind will bring more economic development and more local jobs. This should bring opportunities to grow and diversify the local economy and create long-term jobs which needs to be a priority for this region.
> Renewables projects such as offshore wind offer knowledge-sharing opportunities for business, government and the community.
> The Portland coastline is near an existing high voltage transmission line, offshore windfarms connecting onshore in this area have the potential to avoid needing long transmission lines.
> Upgrading the Port of Portland to support offshore wind could also deliver thousands of additional local jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars to the local economy.
> The Portland community is generally supportive of renewable energy developments, especially wind farms.

• By keeping the proposed declared area large, it can help provide flexibility for developers to work with marine interests including fishers, to minimise impacts and avoid areas of importance to fishing activities.
• Evidence from overseas, where offshore renewable energy projects have existed for many years, suggests that in many cases offshore wind and fishing can, in many cases, live in harmony.
• Wind turbines may have long term local benefits as turbines may function as artificial reefs, potentially increasing fish stocks in surrounding areas and protecting species.

> The proposed Declared Area allows offshore wind farms to be developed far enough off the coast to have minimal visual impacts.
> With offshore wind farms so far away from the coast, any visual impact is likely to be positive because the development will communicate they are an intiative delivering quality outcomes in terms of emissions abatement.

> An project like the Spinifex Offshore Wind Farm will be necessary for Countrywide Hydrogen to be able to expand its domemstic supply project to ann export scale project.
> The proposed area will support projects like the Spinifex Offshore Wind Farm, which can contribute to Australia’s 2035 emissions reduction target and support growth and diversification of the local economy.
> Providing a larger declared area is important as it offers flexibility to developers to work with the community to minimise its impacts and avoid sensitive areas.
> The area has many attributes that make it suitable for offshore wind, including:
o Proximity to nearby industry and a skilled workforce which can support manufacturing and construction.
o A recognised strong wind resource, which means more wind energy can be harnessed and converted to electricity with a high capcity factor.
o An existing deep water port in Portland which could be upgraded to support construction, maintenance and hydrogen exports.
> Portland has an existing high voltage transmission line; offshore windfarms connecting onshore in this area could avoid the need for long transmission lines.
> Offshore wind projects can help diversify skills in the Portland region and secure local economic development and employment opportunities for the region.
> With renewable electricity supplied by project like the Spinifex Offshore Wind Farm for hydrogen production, significant international investment will be attracted.