00:00Federal and state energy ministers visiting Bell Bay on Tasmania's northern coast to declare
00:08an offshore wind zone in Bass Strait.
00:11It's a good day for jobs, it's a good day for energy and it's a good day for Tasmania.
00:15This is the beginning of a new stage, a very new and exciting prospect.
00:23The newly declared zone spans from Wynyard to Bridport.
00:27It's smaller than the original proposal at about 7,000 square kilometres and is about
00:3230 kilometres from the coast instead of the original 20.
00:38At its peak, the zone could generate 20 gigawatts of round-the-clock power, but the turbines
00:44won't be spinning any time soon.
00:46This isn't something about tomorrow or the next day or next week or even next year.
00:50It'll take several years to get offshore wind up and running because it's a long process
00:54and we're starting from scratch.
00:55Offshore wind developers now have until March to apply for a feasibility licence, but there
01:00are calls for that date to be extended, with the zone now smaller and further away from
01:05Tasmania than expected.
01:09Some wind power proponents are concerned about that distance.
01:13That puts you in much deeper water which makes the value proposition for floating turbines
01:19and offshore turbines not quite as strong.
01:23We still have work to do to look carefully at the zone that has been declared, but our
01:30take is the area off north-east Tasmania looks like it's got very strong prospects for an
01:35offshore wind project for TASREX and our partners.
01:39A declaration prompting mixed reactions.
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