The Hon. Chris Bowen, Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Media Release, 22 August 2025

The Albanese Government is supporting the emerging offshore renewable industry to develop new technology and unlock the sector’s full potential. 

Today we are releasing new guidance to help developers, researchers, scientists and other interested parties apply for Research and Demonstration licences in declared offshore zones, establishing a home for offshore renewables research, as well as commercial generation projects.  

While floating offshore wind is nearing commercialisation, there’s still more work to do to support its development.  

The Hunter offshore wind zone remains ripe for investment given their local workforce, experience with heavy industry, and large energy use. 

Research and Demonstration licences will allow development and testing of offshore renewable energy technology, ensuring Australia is a home for renewable investment, innovation and development. 

These projects might include using monitoring equipment such as special buoys to assess the feasibility of a region, or demonstration projects to investigate viability of new technology before applying for a feasibility licence to progress to a full commercial project. 

Research and Demonstration licences are proposed to last for 10 years and will be available across all six declared areas. Applications will be assessed for their appropriateness and projects will require community consultation. 

For example, developing floating wind turbine technology will help unlock a combined 8 GW of renewable energy capacity in the Hunter and Illawarra offshore areas. 

Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said researching and developing offshore energy technology would help harness Australia’s renewable energy resources. 

“The Albanese Government is securing Australia’s energy future with the offshore wind industry the former Coalition Government promised but failed to deliver. 

“These Research and Demonstration licences are a big green light to domestic and international investors, signalling that Australia wants to be home to the next technological advance when it comes to offshore renewable development.  

“Our first priority for Australia’s offshore renewables areas is to deliver cleaner and cheaper energy, we know there’s a huge reserve of renewable resources on offer if we can develop the technology to harness it. 

“Australian waters are the perfect place to research and develop these technologies, demonstrate their viability and work towards turning our clean energy potential into gigawatts of power.” 

The Government is seeking feedback to improve and finalise its Research and Demonstration licence application guidelines, with public consultation open 22 August to 3 October 2025. 

More information can be found here: https://consult.dcceew.gov.au/oei-framework-draft-research-demonstration-licence-guideline.